


hold up (you should have bowed)

by graveltotempo



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: 97 line friendship, Aged Up, Artist Jeon Heejin, Choi Yerim | Choerry and Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul are cousins, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Friendship/Love, Ha Sooyoung | Yves & Jo Haseul & Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul are best friends, Ha Sooyoung | Yves and Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye are siblings, Im Yeojin and Jo Haseul are siblings, Jealousy, Kim Jiwoo | Chuu & Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip are best friends, Kinda, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Character Death, Past Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Ha Sooyoung | Yves, Roommates, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, at the beginning, characters will be added, minor Jeon Heejin/Shin Ryujin, they arent friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:26:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 91,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21832903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/graveltotempo/pseuds/graveltotempo
Summary: 5 girls move into an appartment in a Seoul complex, unaware that their dastardly landlord has rented the same place for all five of them. Enter their very interesting neighbours, careers that don't go the way they are supposed to go and a total of 12 headstrong girl and you have the recipe for disaster.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Jeon Heejin/Kim Hyunjin, Jo Haseul/Viian Wong | ViVi, Jung Jinsol | Jinsoul/Kim Jungeun | Kim Lip
Comments: 149
Kudos: 757
Collections: LOONA FANFICS, meioresluna





	1. week one: the one where they move in

**Author's Note:**

> kind of that Friends AU you didn't know you wanted. 
> 
> 6A - Jung Jinsoul (24) and her cousin, Choi Yerim (20).  
> 6B - Jeon Heejin (21), Kim Hyunjin (21), Kim Jungeun (22), Kim Jiwoo (22) and Park Chaewon (21).  
> 6C - Son Sooyoung (24) and Son Hyejoo (20).  
> 5C - Wong Vivi (25), Im Haseul (24) and Im Yeojin (19).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 21/10**

  
“Hyejoo! Hyejoo!” 

Sooyoung kept shouting out from her bedroom, but already she knew it was in vain. Her sister was probably in her bedroom with her earphones on and the videogame sound raised to an inhumane volume was swallowing any other outside sound. 

That didn’t stop her from shouting at the top of her lungs, “HEY, Son Hyejoo!”

“You need a hand?” asked Jinsoul, her head peeking out from outside the bedroom door. 

Sooyoung frowned at her, “When did you get in my house?”

Jinsoul huffed, moving back in the living room. “If you don’t need my help,”

“Wait!” 

Jinsoul snorted, walking back in the room. “How did you even get in this position?”

This position being: crouched on top of the big wooden wardrobe in the bedroom, one leg dangling precariously from the edge and no apparent way of getting down from there.

“There was a roach,” answered Sooyoung. 

Jinsoul waited.

No further explanation was given.

“All right,” she sighed, pulling a chair closer to the wardrobe. “Jump.”

Sooyoung glowered at her. “I said help me, not kill me!”

“You took dancing in High School and in college,” said the blonde calmly. “Jump, land on the chair, spin and end gracefully on the ground.”

She looked so serious, that Sooyoung could only stare at her for a few seconds, wondering if she had somehow missed the punchline of the joke. “Jinsoul, what exactly do you think we did in our dancing classes? Martial arts?”

Jinsoul pouted, then climbed on the chair herself. “You are no fun,” she complained, before reaching out and pulling at her leg.

“STOP, STOP, STOP!” screeched the dark haired girl, but the other had tugged on her leg too hard, sending her falling on her and down on the floor.

“Ouch,” moaned Jinsoul in pain, glaring at Sooyoung. “Why didn’t you fall more gracefully?!”

“Why are you trying to murder me?” shouted back the other, not moving from the floor. “One day you will succeed, and then what? What will you do, then?”

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” the door smacked so hard against the wall Sooyoung had to stand up to make sure it hadn’t been wretched off its hinges. “Will you two stop making so much noise?!”

Hyejoo’s hair was all ruffled and her headset was still on, she had a chip stuck on her cheek and her glasses still on. Still, Jinsoul winced and scooted behind Sooyoung. 

Sooyoung looked back at her sister once assessing that the door was still alive. “What the hell is wrong with you? I’ve been calling you for like 10 minutes!”

“I was working!” shouted back Hyejoo, even though she and the other two girls could still hear the sound of fortnite playing through her headset.

“You’ve been living off me ever since you dropped out, what work?!” 

“Hey, don’t shake your finger at me…!”

The sound of something being dragged across the corridor suddenly interrupted them again, and Hyejoo’s glare turned to the apartment door. “Here it goes again!”

“Is that Yeojin again?” wondered Jinsoul, while Sooyoung glared at her sister, the offending finger pointing at her again.

“So you can hear the sound of something being dragged all the way from the hallway but you can’t hear me calling out your name from the next room?!”

Hyejoo ignored her sister, taking large steps towards the apartment door; before she could step outside she was pushed back inside by a familiar purple head stepping inside.

“Guys!” squealed Yerim, snapping the door shut behind her. “We are getting some new roommates!”

Jinsoul lit up, “Are you saying someone is finally taking over Jaden Jeong’s huge apartment?”

Even the Son sisters’ curiosity was piqued and they came to stand closer to the door, each one of them with one ear on the door. 

“God, I hated that hag,” muttered Sooyoung, “Hyejoo, don’t!”

“I didn’t even say anything!”

“You thought it!”

“Guys, shush!”

“Did you see what they looked like?”

“I think there is multiple people moving in. I saw a blond and a girl with red hair earlier trying to drag some heavy looking equipment, but that’s mostly it.”

“Oh, I remember the blonde! I saw her when he was showing people the apartment!”

“No, it’s not her, it’s someone else.”

A knock on the door startled them, sending them falling on top of each other on the floor.

“Yerim get off me!” screamed Sooyoung.

“That’s my boob, aw aw aw!”

“Girls, quiet!” shushed them Jinsoul, before fixing her hair. She ignored Sooyoung’s little “This is my house,” and pushed the door open with a blinding smile. “Hello!”

Outside was standing a short girl, with blonde hair tied in a high ponytail and a lost looking expression on her face. She seemed to startle a little when she saw the other three girls peeking from behind Jinsoul, but then she offered a small smile.

“Hello. I’m Park Chaewon, I’ll be moving across the hall,” she said in a voice so tiny Jinsoul nearly cooed. She stopped herself though.

“Hi, I’m Jinsoul! I’m one of your neighbours and-”

“Ahem.”

Jinsoul rolled her eyes, stepping aside slightly. Sooyoung stepped forward, offering Chaewon her hand. “I’m Sooyoung. I’m the one who’s gonna be living across from you. Me and my sister, Hyejoo,” she smiled. “I remember you from when Jaden showed you around.”

Chaewon lit up nodding. “Oh yeah, I remember,” she turned slightly to Jinsoul, “then you…”

“I live in 6A, over there,” she pointed in direction of the other room, “With my cousin, Yerim.” Yerim waved from behind and Chaewon smiled automatically.

“Right. Sooyoung, Hyejoo, Jinsoul and Yerim. Uh, I was wondering whether any of you have Jaden’s number? I’ve been trying to reach him and he hasn’t been answering,”

Already Sooyoung was pulling out her phone, “Yeah, sure. Did he not give you the key?”

“He did, but he also,” she interrupted herself and they all turned around to see two girls walking up the stairs, each of them holding onto a big bag while two other girls dragged bags behind them.

One of the girl beamed upon spotting the small group of girls in front of 6C. “Hey girls!”

“Haseul,” answered Jinsoul, eyeing the bags Haseul and the others were bringing up with surprise. “What you got there?”

“These two girls are going to be our new neighbours! They are taking Jaden’s place.” she explained, depositing a bag down. “Me and Vivi saw them struggling downstairs and helped them up.”

A pink haired girl pointed to room 6B. “Want help bringing your bags inside?”

“No, but thank you Vivi.” said one of the dark haired girls, nodding a little at Haseul in thanks and dragging her bag towards room 6B.

Chaewon swiftly moved to stop her. “Wh- there must be a mistake. I’m moving to 6B.” 

The other girl, who had been mostly quiet till then seemed surprise. “What is going on? Two roommates?”

The door to 6B opened, and a girl with red hair peeked outside, becoming visibly started at the amount of girls standing outside. “Uh… can I help you?”

Chaewon looked around her like she was about to rip her own hair out. “Yeah. Who the hell are you and why are you in my apartment?”

“I’m Jiwoo and -”

“What do you mean your apartment?” questioned another voice as the door opened even more and another girl peeked out of it. “This is our apartment.”

“No it’s not.” insisted Chaewon, dropping her backpack on the floor. “I have a contract,” she explained, rustling through the contents of her bag.

“So do we!” chirped Jiwoo, while her friend rushed inside the apartment. The other two girls who had just come up also opened their bags, looking for their own copy of the contract.

“What on Earth is going on here?” asked Vivi, looking at the mess of the hallway in slight distress. “Should we call the police?!”

“I work in administration,” said Haseul, extending her hand to the contract Chaewon had produced, “I can check the contracts for you guys to see if there is anything wrong with any of them.”

“You failed your bar exam and couldn’t become a lawyer,” came a voice as yet another girl appeared on top of the stairs. “Uh oh, what’s this?”

Vivi approached the girl, shaking her head. “Some kind of mess. All of them are claiming the apartment.”

The new girl arched an eyebrow, shaking her haid. “Classic Jaden. Why don’t you guys just call him and see what’s happening?”

Chaewon glared at the new comer. “I’ve tried, but he hasn’t answered.”

“See, Yeojin? They tried, so now I can also try to help.” said Haseul, sticking her tongue out at the younger girl. “And I didn’t fail, I simply didn’t take it!”

As Haseul took the four signed contracts in her hand, Hyejoo tapped her sister’s shoulder. “How long are we supposed to stand here watching what’s going on? Can me and Yerim go already?”

Yerim shushed her. “Zip it, Son, I want to know what’s going.”

Hyejoo grumbled, sliding down on the floor but she didn’t crawl back inside the room, slightly curious as to how the thing was gonna be resolved.

All heads were on Haseul, who had put down all four contracts on the floor. “They all look like standard house contracts,” she started, scanning each piece line by line, “and they are also typed exactly the same. He doesn’t mention roommates though, so technically you can have your deposits back and - oh. Oh no.”

Jiwoo bent down on the floor with her. “Oh no, what? What did you find?”

Haseul pointed at something written in fine writing on the third page of each one of the contracts. “In addition to the apartment,” she read out, “the resident agrees to take the number of roommates that will come with the house, which shall be determined…”

“What?!” screeched Chaewon, picking up her copy of the contract with eyes that threatened to come out of her skull. “He didn’t say- how - this is illegal!”

“You are right, this is so much fun,” commented Hyejoo, grinning at Yerim.

Makeshift lawyer Haseul shook her head, “Unfortunately, this is perfectly legal. It’s all written here and signed. Kim Jiwoo, Kim Jungeun, Park Chaewon, Kim Hyunjin and Jeon Heejin: you all signed these contracts, which means you all have the right to stay in this house and, if you decide to move out before a year, you forfeit your rights to having your deposits back.” she turned her disapproving gaze from the contract to Yeojin. “And this is why I always tell you to read stuff before signing it like a dumbass!” she turned to the other five girls. “This is a tragedy.” Back to Yeojin. “ALWAYS!”

“Why is she blaming me,” muttered Yeojin, crossing her arms around her chest, while the other girls stared at each other in shock.

“So let me get this straight,” finally said the only girl who hadn’t spoken yet, a dark haired girl with a yellow beanie on her head. “All five of us are stuck in a two bedroom apartment?”

The girl who had come up with her blinked at her for a second then leaped over the pile of bags still in the hallway and nearly tripped over Jiwoo, “I call dibs on the bedroom!”

“Wait!” screeched Chaewon rushing inside as well while Jiwoo’s friend inside shouted something unintelligible at them.

The beanie girl turned to the rest of her future neighbours and smiled. “Nice to meet you guys!” then walked into what could only be described as a battlefield by the noises coming out of it.

The seven girls outside turned to each other.

Hyejoo sighed. “I can’t believe I wasted special fortnite gameplay for a group of girls who are probably together as loud as Yeojin.” 

“Hey!” shouted Yeojin, following her and Yerim inside. “I’m not that loud.”

“This is certainly gonna be fun,” laughed Vivi as Jinsoul tugged her inside the room with her.

Haseul turned an arched eyebrow to Sooyoung. The dark haired girl shrugged, a pinched look on her face. “Mi casa es su casa, apparently.”

+

“All right. There is two bedrooms and three beds in total.” pointed out Jiwoo, standing next to Jungeun. “How are we going to decide who gets what room?”

“How about by order of arrival?” asked Chaewon, already inching towards one of the bedrooms. “First come first served.”

Jiwoo clapped her hands together. “Oh, I like that idea!”

“I don’t,” said one of the dark haired girls, crossing her arms around her chest.

“Who even are you? Sisters?” asked Chaewon, to which the girl looked offended.

“Excuse me?”

The other looked offended at her offense, “Hey, no need to be so disgusted.”

The other ignored her. “I’m Kim Hyunjin, and I’m pretty sure I was the first to sign the contract with Jaden. Which means that technically, I’m first come. SO shouldn’t I get to pick my bed first?”

“I’m Heejin, by the way.” said the girl with beanie, giving a smile around. “And I think I deserve a bed because I am a starving artist. Shouldn’t the poorest one of us be offered a bed to rest on? Haven’t I suffered enough?”

Chaewon arched an eyebrow. “Do all starving artists go around with that many bags full of clothes and artistic supplies?”

Heejin pouted. “I spend my little money on good and important stuff. So when I saw such a cheap room of course I booked it.”

“We also don’t have much money,” interrupted Jiwoo’s friend. “I’m Jungeun and I literally work as a sales woman while Jiwoo is a waitress. We work so much, we also deserve a bed and-”

“I have an idea,” started Jiwoo suddenly. She had been watching one of the bedrooms with a thoughtful expression. “Me and Jungeun barely had time to inspect the apartment before you guys came in but: there is a way for all five of us to get a bed.”

“Unless you have a bed in one of your bags,” started Hyunjin, but Jiwoo didn’t let her interrupt.

“The bedroom over there has one double bed. That’s two people,” she indicated with her fingers. “The other room is larger and has two single beds,” she added two fingers, “and unless I’m wrong, that couch is a sofabed.” At that, she pulled the cover off the couch, revealing what was in fact a level next to the handle that could be pulled to make the bed.

“That’s interesting,” conceded Chaewon, still looking at Jiwoo suspiciously. “But that doesn’t exactly help us decide who gets what bed.”

Jiwoo shrugged. “Well, I was thinking that you guys don’t know each other so are not really inclined to share a bed…”

“Chuu!” exclaimed Jungeun, sensing where the conversation was going.

“Bless you!”, chorused three voices, while Jiwoo gave her friend a look.

“If you have any better idea, let’s hear it!” when Jungeun didn’t add anything else, she continued, “Since me and Jungeun have been friends since we were in nappies, we are okay with sharing the double bed. And you guys can do rock paper scissors or whatever to decide about the other three beds.”

The other three girls just looked at each other, while Jungeun sighed. 

“Are you sure?” finally asked Heejin to which Hyunjin immediately shushed her.

“What are you doing?! Let’s just play rock paper scissors.” She pulled out her fist.

“I have terrible luck at this,” whined Heejin, still bringing her fist forward.

“Rock,” started Chaewon, under the brunettes careful gaze, “paper, scissors!”

+

It took 18 hours until Sooyoung decided it was time to check on their new neighbours. They were in an obviously complicated position - mostly for lack of judgement - but they all looked younger than her, probably close in age with Hyejoo; and well, that activated her den mother instincts.

“Hyejoo, you home?” she called out, struggling with the many boxes of take out in her arms through the living room. 

She deposited the bags of food on the table and threw her keys on the key holder. At first she had been thinking of warming up something for her and Hyejoo to eat, but seen as the girl wasn’t answering, she was probably asleep. or ignoring her.

Instead of checking she walked outside the door again, knocking at the door of 6B. 

She heard a loud crash and an ear splitting scream before the door opened and beanie girl from the day before appeared, this time beanieless. 

Sooyoung quickly smiled. “Hi, I’m Sooyoung, from yesterday. I live across,” she pointed at her open door behind her, “and I was wondering that maybe you guys would enjoy something to eat with me? I am a chef,” she explained at the other’s puzzled expression, “And we had a lot of leftovers today…” she trailed off, another loud scream coming from the other apartment. “Is everything alright?”

Beanie girl with no beanie sighed, opening the door wider. Behind her was what could only look like a place affected by an Earthquake and a hurricane within hours. There was pieces of paper everywhere and clothes on most surfaces of the floor. Everything was stacked in the corners, and the travelbags were still around the hallway. 

“Everything is fine,” declared the girl, as if unaware of what laid behind her. “I’m Heejin,” she offered instead, shaking her hand. “Come in, so we can see if any of the other girls-”

“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”

“- wants to join us.” she concluded, as if she simply could not hear the screams and shoutings of bloody murder from the room over.

Sooyoung would have gladly preferred to remain exactly where she was, but she was the one who had offered to invite them over. She followed Heejin inside.

In the kitchen/dining room she found Chaewon bent over a computer, staring blankly at the screen like she was hypnotized. When Sooyoung called out, “Hey, Chaewon,” she barely blinked.

“Hyunjin! Jiwoo! Jungeun! Chaewon!” called out Heejin and Sooyoung flinched again. It was quite impressive how such loud noises were coming from such small figures.

The bathroom door opened, and the other dark haired girl - Hyunjin - came out, wet hair tied up behind her. “I don’t know whose name you’re calling out like they owe you money, but it better not be mine,” she pronounced, glaring slightly at Heejin.

The other didn’t reply, distracted by Jiwoo and Jungeun coming out of their shared bedroom. The first had her hair all in disarray, like someone had pulling at it, while the second’s face was flushed and angry.

Hyunjin arched an eyebrow. “Oh, the two best friends…” she cooed.

“Shut the fuck up, Hyunjin.” glowered Jungeun, before finally taking notice of Sooyoung. Her eyes widened. “Please don’t tell me you’re also moving in.”

Sooyoung raised both arms in quick surrender, “No, no, don’t worry. I was actually wondering if you girls wanted to join me - and maybe my sister - for lunch?”

The three other girls appeared surprised, Heejin was quick to intereject. “Sooyoung lives across from us and she is a chef, so she brought some leftovers from the restaurant.”

Jiwoo looked surprised. “A restaurant? That’s such a grow up job.”

The other smiled sheepishly, running a hand through her hair. “Well I guess I am a grown up?”

“I’ll come.” decided Hyunjin. “God knows I haven’t had a proper meal in days.”

The other two also agreed quickly and then turned to Chaewon. “You coming?”

Chaewon finally looked up, slamming her laptop shut. “What the hell. Sure.”

Sooyoung lead that small congregation back in her apartment, where she found Yerim and Hyejoo nosing through the bags on the table.

“We have company?” guessed Hyejoo, watching the other five girls standing awkwardly at the door while Sooyoung brought out a number of cutlery for everyone at the door.

Sooyoung pointed at Yerim, “I could ask you the same question. Shouldn’t you be in class or something?”, then she noticed the others still at the door. “Oh girls, please: make yourself comfortable. It’s mostly different types of pasta and salad, but I have three beef and cheese casserole servings with salad side. Those are the red ones without label. everything else is labeled - SON HYEJOO WE HAVE GUESTS - so pick whichever you like.”

Hyejoo stepped back from the carbonara she had been eyeing earlier, crossing her arms around her chest. “I’m your sister and you would let me starve?”

“Without a second thought.” finalised Sooyoung.

Hyunjin sat down with one of the red containers. “You guys are sisters?”

Yerim, who had finally managed to steal a box, sat down next to her. “Why, don’t they look similar to you? I’m Yerim, by the way. I live in 6A.”

  
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hyunjin,” she managed a small smile through the bite. “Is this condo just filled with girls or?”

The younger girl laughed. “Well, this floor basically is. My cousin Jinsoul, Sooyoung and Haseul - one of the girl who helped you guys yesterday - went to college together and then kind of also chose the same condo to live in.”

“Friends since college?” whistled Heejin, impressed. “That’s really crazy. I don’t even remember the people who I went out with, let alone strangers I shared classes with.”

Sooyoung shrugged, but she seemed pleased to be talking about it. “We kind of grew up together, and came to the city together and all… it made sense for us to all move in together.”

“Are all of you working together, too?” asked Jungeun, curios.

The older girl snorted, shaking her head. “Haseul might be able to whip something together, but Jinsoul…”

“Jinsoul what - oh, hey girls,” said Haseul walking inside the room with Vivi and Jinsoul in tow. “What are we talking about?”

Sooyoung sighed, making a gesture to the table, while muttering a slight curse under her breath. “I guess it’s my fault for mentioning them so much.” she turned to Haseul, who had picked up a plate from the bunch and was sitting next to her on the floor. “The girls were asking me if you guys were also chefs.” she explained quickly. “Oh right: girls, these are Heejin, Hyunjin, Jungeun, Jiwoo and Chaewon, the 6B gals. 6B gals, these are Haseul, Vivi and Jinsoul. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen Yeojin yesterday, she’s Haseul’s sister.”

“I’m not a cook, although I probably could do it if I put my mind to it,” mused Haseul, before giving them a smile. “I work in administration. It’s even more boring than it sounds.”

Jinsoul, who had been pouting at Yves for a while, finally turned to the rest of the girl. “It’s not like I can’t cook! It’s easier to order or steal Sooyoung’s food, that’s it.” Sooyoung muttered something, and Jinsoul laughed before turning her attention back to them. “I work in a primary school, so if I ever act as if I’m babying you too much, call me out on it.”

“And I’m a stylist.” concluded Vivi, smiling happily at the gasp that left Hyunjin and Jungeun.

“Really? How did you do it?” asked Hyunjin, food suddenly forgotten.

Vivi shrugged, “I was a model in Hong Kong before moving in here, and I sort of was born into it? I was a cute baby and I started modelling and acting in adverts and clothing lines since I was a baby. I got an apprenticeship with an important designer, and by the time I moved here to Seoul, I had plenty of recommendation letters and contacts.” she made a face. “Sorry I can’t be more of help.”

“You are too modest,” claimed Haseul, frowning at her. “Vivi is really talented and an amazing all rounder, which makes everyone fall in love with her the moment they see her: she can sing, act, model… she could probably sell paper bags if she put her mind to it.”

Vivi appeared embarrassed, but Haseul didn’t stop. “She came here without speaking a word of korean, and in a matter of months she became fluent all the while living in a bad place and working twice as hard as every korean stylist. She is an angel.” she claimed.

All Sooyoung did was say “ooh?”, and Haseul shut her mouth immediately, a blush reddening her cheeks in moments.

Sensing slight awkwardness, Jiwoo turned to Sooyoung. “This place is really clean and tidy.”

“So could ours but,” the rest of Jungeun’s words seemed to be swallowed with her food, but Jiwoo’s smile dropped because she had heard enough.

She turned to her best friend, eyes ablaze. “Is there something you want to say, Jungeun?”

“Not again,” complained Heejin, putting down her fork. “Can’t you two go like 10 minutes without arguing?”

Jungeun turned on her, “Oh, so you think this has nothing to do with you?” everyone winced. “Who’s paper and pen and paint is it, all over the fucking living room?”

“We are stuck in a two bedroom apartment with 3 other girls!” Jiwoo was now standing over her best friend. “Can you take the broom out of your ass? We don’t have the time or capacity to keep everything clean and-”

“Who even made you queen of the apartment?” suddenly jumped in Hyunjin. “You two think that just because you are bestfriends you are allowed to decide for everyone else? Maybe the rest of us care about the mess too, maybe we don’t. Why do you think you can decide between the two of you?”

“We are living t-o-g-e-t-h-e-r!” Jungeun’s spelling seemed to tick off the other three immediately. “There have to be compromises! I work some evenings and I’d rather be able to come home without stepping on a fucking dried patch of paint Heejin claims is art!”

Heejin gasped, betrayed, “Oh, you didn’t just go there.”

“Don’t act like she’s wrong!” snapped Hyunjin. “You’re a starving artist because you suck not because the world doesn’t understand you.”

“What do you even know about anything, miss I don’t even have a job?!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” 

Everyone stopped in their tracks, even Yerim and Hyejoo who had been eating and talking to each other through the screaming match.

Chaewon was standing on her feet, fists curled together and a murderous look on her face. When everyone did shut up though, the look melted away in one of sadness and… something else. “What the fuck? What is this?” she complained, pointing vaguely to her roommates. “This is not right. This is not what was supposed to happen. I was supposed to get an apartment, and be able to concentrate on my writing and make it big in the city and be happy away from my parents.” fat tears started rolling down her cheeks. “This is all wrong, I don’t even know you guys! Everything is all over the place because I’m stuck in a house with people I’ve never met and all you guys do is scream and shout and be angry and what the hell?”

“You think any of us wanted this?” asked Jiwoo, once Chaewon hid her face in her hands with a sob. Her voice was shaking. “You think me and Jungeun are screaming at each other just for this?”

“We came here with big dreams of becoming singers in a group together. We got an apartment together in Seoul and then, out of nowhere, we were dropped from the group.” Jungeun put down her plate. “And now all of a sudden we are working for minimum wage in the big city of Seoul trying to make ends meet and everything is a lot, all right?”

Hyunjin, who had quietly moved next to Chaewon, put an arm around the girl’s neck. “I’m sorry I shouted. I know I’ve been flippant and rude and annoying up until now, but it’s just… that’s how I deal with being uncomfortable. which isn’t right, because none of you guys deserve this.” she patted her blonde hair. “I’m sorry.”

Heejin twisted her hands together. “I’ll try to keep the floor clean,” she started, but Jungeun stopped her.

“It’s okay. I mean, I hate the mess,” she clarified, “But we don’t even have furniture right now and you’re stuck sleeping on the bed in the living room. All of us have rooms to hide our crap in.” she bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry for being so hard on you.”

Sooyoung, Haseul and Jinsoul looked at the girls in the living, small twin smiles on all three of them. So many different minds, ideas and tempers under the same roof, colliding and arguing but also so good at calming down and apologizing to each other. They glanced at each other, and their smiles grew. 

It was familiar.

Yeojin appeared at the door a few minutes later, “Is there any food left - oh my god, why is everyone crying? Did Jinsoul cook again?”


	2. week two: the one with the cakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 28/10**
> 
> Jiwoo has a plan to say thank you for all the help Sooyoung has given them:
> 
> step one - tell jungeun  
> step two - enlist the help of someone in the house  
> step three - bake a cake  
> step four - have sooyoung be proud

“I’m ready to go then, if everything is all right,” called out Sooyoung, picking up her bag from the locker.

“Made sure the plates are already cleaned, Liu has already made a start on the stuff for tomorrow, Jess has-”

Yoona, the other full time chef, rolled her eyes. “Sooyoung, it’s not my first rodeo. I was sick for a while but I did not forget how to run our kitchen, you know?”

The younger girl sighed, nodding her head. “Yeah, sorry. Having to take care of this whole place by myself kind of made me very anxious last week.” she smiled then, waving at her friend. “Okay, then. See you tomorrow!”

Yoona barely answered, already barking orders at the waiters standing idle in the kitchen and Sooyoung chuckled a little to herself as she exited the kitchen.

She found Haseul waiting a little farther away from the service door and rushed towards her friend, grabbing her arm immediately. “Were you waiting for long?”

Haseul shook her head, starting to walk with her. “Not too long; although I did consider going inside and ordering something for us in your restaurant.” She look up at her friend, head tilted to the side, “Remind me again why we never eat at your restaurant?”

“Because we should never mix work with pleasure,” answered Sooyoung. “What would happen if we ate there and you hated something and loudly complained about it and a waiter overheard you and then snitched saying that ‘Oh Yoona, Sooyoung’s friend said your cooking sucks’ and boom, now I’m fired.” she glanced at Haseul, who was snickering. “Do you _want_ me to get fired, Haseul?”

“Of course not. Otherwise where on Earth would I find free food whenever I want?”

“You say free food, but I hear ‘Suck out of Sooyoung’s pocket’.” muttered the taller girl, darkly, but at Haseul’s laugh she couldn’t not smile as well. “How was work today, by the way?”

“Terrible,” immediately started Haseul, like she had been _waiting_ for Sooyoung to ask her about this. “ I swear to god one day I will be strong enough to quit.”

“Your boss still giving you trouble?” asked Sooyoung, sympathetic. Ever since she had taken that job offer almost 3 years ago, she had been complaining about her boss and how he kept expecting stuff from her, despite her being the youngest in her team.

Haseul sighed. “If only it was just him. Remember how I told you Minju quit a few weeks ago and they replaced her with some guy?” Sooyoung nodded. “Well this guy has, in the span of like 3 weeks, managed to ask me out 17 times.” She groaned, opening the door of the restaurant they were gonna dine at. “You’d think that the fact that I refer to him as ‘ _some guy_ ’ even to his face would stop him from continuously embarrassing himself, but no!”

“Table for 2 please,” asked Sooyoung at the waiter before turning back to Haseul. “You are too pretty to be left alone.” she cooed, in retaliation earning a punch on the side.

Once seated, Haseul put her head on her palm, barely looking at the menu before her. “But seriously… what do I do?”

Sooyoung pretended to be engrossed on her menu as she spoke, “Just tell him you have a girlfriend or pretend you are a lesbian.” She refused to look up, keeping her face as clear as possible, but she could feel Haseul’s stare burning on her.

After a few seconds, Haseul huffed. “You know what, I’m not even going to engage,” she decided, grabbing her own menu.

Sooyoung dropped hers, eyes narrowed, “Im Haseul. We both know you like Vivi and Vivi likes you, just get together with her and then no one will bother you after the first slam down.” when her friend didn’t look up at her, Sooyoung snatched her menu away.

“Hey! I was looking at that!”

“I don’t care. Just do everyone and favour and ask Vivi out. Unless you want Yeojin to drown in you guys’ pining for each other.”

“It’s not _that_ easy!” hissed Haseul, snatching her menu back. “I don’t even know if-”

“Oh, your ass knows damn well that-”

“Can I take your order?” asked a waiter, appearing between them like he had overheard the tension between them and had come as quickly as possible. “Is this a bad time?”

“No,” sighed Haseul. “I already know what I want. Could I have some hot stone spicy honey chicken bibimbap with dumplings and some udon as a side.”

“Sure. And you, ma’am?”

Sooyoung grimaced at being called _ma’am_ , then smile as sweetly as possible, “I’d like some chilli beef cupbak with fried egg, seolleng tag without the rice and kimchi fried rice with two spoons.”

Haseul had _not_ asked for the fried rice, but Sooyoung knew her best friend enough to be able to anticipate what she wanted before she even wanted it. Which was why,

“You not asking Vivi out is bullshit.” she said, once the waiter had placed a bottle of water on the table and left.

Haseul groaned, dropping her head on the table. “Is this what today was all about? Are you not going to drop it?”

“No and yes. Last week you were basically screaming at everyone how much you loved Vivi. I thought a best friend dinner was simply in order.”

“I wasn’t _screaming_ it,” tried the other, but Sooyoung didn’t let her finish.

“Even the new girls seemed to pick up on it,” she paused for effect. “And they had seen the two of you a total of two times!” At Haseul’s huge pout, her voice softened. “I am saying this because I love you, Haseul. But you and Vivi have been living together for two whole years. You guys met, and you invited her to live with you and fast forward two years you are able to guess what the other is thinking and have conversations with your eyes, and your relationship itself has not moved. And before you try to use Yeojin as an excuse: she’s a big girl. She is not the child you say she was 2 years ago, and even she has picked up on the cues and eye loving you two give each other on the daily. So what’s stopping you?”

Haseul stared at her best friend for a few seconds before sighing again. “It’s just not that _easy_. I know you think, you are sure,” she rectified at Sooyoung’s expression, “that Vivi is into me. But you can never be 100% sure unless someone actively asks her and she replies.”

“That’s you.” Haseul looked up at her, tilting her head to the side. “You’re the one who has to ask.”

The younger looked down at her hands. “I know.”

+

“Jiwoo, honey-”, the manager didn’t finish the request, but Jiwoo knew exactly what he meant.

Didn’t even matter to him that she was already dressed up ready to leave; she had made the coffee and she would have to bring it out to the customers, even if her shift had finished 7 minutes before.

She couldn’t argue, though, so she just plastered a fake smile on her face and grabbed the tray. “Sure. Table?”

“19. You’re a saviour, hun!”

_ Yeah _ , _right._ Jiwoo scoffed in her mind; she was just the youngest member of the team at the moment and unable to say no to anyone.

“Here is your drinks,” she said automatically putting the drinks down, “Hot lemon honey boba in green tea and-”

“Oh, Jiwoo, it is you!”

Jiwoo stopped reciting, finally recognizing the people she was giving drinks to.

In a formal short skirt and a white shirt, jacket sitting behind her chair and hair tied up in a chignon, Haseul looked quite different from what Jiwoo remembered. Her make up was not too pronounced, but it made a big difference in making her look more sophisticated.

In front of her was Sooyoung, dressed less smart than her friend, but almost as imposing, with her long black hair tied up in a high ponytail, showing off her shiny pendants. Her blouse was a very pretty shade of purple, tucked in a pair of comfortable jeans.

Even like that, it made Jiwoo feel slightly underdressed in her work skirt and black t-shirt.

“You work here?”

Jiwoo snapped out of her reverie, putting down the drinks on the table. “Yeah, I’m off now though.”

“Great,” said Sooyoung, grabbing her chai latte and standing up. “We can walk home together. We can wait for you out front.” She eyed up her to go coffee cup and turned back to the red haired girl. “Would you like us to get you something to drink?”

“Nah,” laughed Jiwoo, taking her tray. “If one more person orders a coffee, they might seriously not let me go. See you in a minute!”

Thankfully, no one else ordered anything, and a few seconds later Jiwoo was stepping towards the main entrance, her jacket zipped up to hide her work outfit and bag on her shoulder.

Even dressed with their coats on, Sooyoung and Haseul looked incredibly fancy.

“Hey,” she called, immediately falling into step with them. “What were you guys doing here?”

Haseul shrugged, not looking at Sooyoung. “Bros early dinner and gossip. Work kind of killed me today and Sooyoung treated me. Didn’t know you worked here, though.”

Jiwoo shrugged, a little embarrassed. “Yeah, well despite my big dreams of making it in Seoul, it’s kind of hard without having money to pay rent and stuff. This was the first place that offered me a callback while not being too far from my place, so I jumped at the chance.”

“Do tell me if they’re treating you right, though. I could easily find a way to sue them if they keep making you work overtime.”

Jiwoo was the only one who laughed. Sooyoung arched an eyebrow. “Oh, she’s serious. Remember, she was going to be a lawyer at one point.”

Haseul patted her head. “I’ve got all the theory in here.”

“Well, thanks. You guys are really nice.”

The taller of the three snorted, putting an arm around Jiwoo’s neck. “You guys kind of look like the lost ducklings we were when we first moved to Seoul. And there is a whole 5 of you. Of course we are going to try to help you.”

Jiwoo looked up at her, her sincere smile. “Seriously though: we might say it all the time, but without you especially, we wouldn’t know what to do or even how to wash our clothes or find decent food every now and then.” she turned to Haseul. “I mean both of you, of course.”

Haseul snorted. “Hey, it’s fine. I live downstairs, I am you guys’ last resource.”

“And _seriously_ ,” laughed Sooyoung, opening their condo’s main door. “It is fine. I have a younger sister, and two best friends who I always regard as younger siblings and _their_ younger siblings/cousins. I’m a mother hen.”

+

When Jiwoo got an idea in her head, it was hard to get it off her, no matter how hard one would try.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” told her Jungeun that same night, fresh out of the shower after her shift. By the time she had gotten home, Heejin was already asleep on the couch and there was no noise coming from Chaewon and Hyunjin’s shared room.

Jiwoo glared at her from were she was laying on the bed. “You never think anything _I_ do is a good idea,”

“Don’t even start. I am way too tired to start or engage in an argument,” complained her best friend, jumping onto the bed with her, opening up her arms so that Jiwoo could snuggle inside.

The other pouted a little even as she pressed her back against her. “Work was a bitch?”

“It wasn’t the best,” agreed Jungeun after a few moments. “But it’s-”

“Temporary.” finished Jiwoo for her. “It will get better, and soon we won’t even have to work there anymore, we will be busy producing our magnificent music. We just have to be a little patient, that’s it.” She yawned, getting more comfortable. “Good night.”

But Jungeun was already asleep.

Which meant that the next morning, Jiwoo waited until her best friend had gotten ready and left the apartment before slytherin out of their bedroom, the idea that Jungeun had tried to talk her out of still at the forefront of her head.

Both Heejin and Hyunjin were not at home, normal for the first, less so for the second, but Chaewon was sitting on the couch among a few empty snack wrappings, earphones on and eyes unfocused. 

She only looked up, frowning when Jiwoo waved her hand in her face, “What?”

The older girl arched an eyebrow. “I need your help.”

“No.”

“We need to make something nice to give Sooyoung,” continued Jiwoo, unperturbed. “I was thinking of making a cake, since we have all the ingredients here already.”

Chaewon clicked on her laptop again. “I don’t think you heard me when I said ‘ _no_ ’.”

“What else would you be doing? Playing fortnite while you wait for the inspiration to struck you?”

Exactly as she predicted, the blonde turned to stare at her. “First of all, it’s League of Legends. Second… what would _I_ gain by helping you?”

Jiwoo arched an eyebrow. “Something resembling an actual meal?” She pointed at the two cake mixes on the table. “We are going to have to make sure the cake tastes good before giving it off to Sooyoung, so…”

“After all, who am I to deny my help to those in need?” exclaimed Chaewon, slamming her laptop shut and pulling her hair up in a pony. “Where do you need me, ma’am?” 

For the new next few minutes, everything went perfectly fine. Chaewon managed to get some of the egg shells Jiwoo had left in the mix out immediately, and between the two of them the mixture of milk and egg was beaten to a smooth pulp. 

Jiwoo was proud of them. Honestly, _who_ was it that said that cooking was hard? If you read the recipe and followed it exactly, there was nothing that could possibly go wrong.

She observed the cakes in the oven, slowly rising inside, and patted her shirt with a grimace. “Okay, I need to get out of this shirt before the sugar and flour manage to melt on it.” She passed her the bowl with the chocolate pieces on it. “You melt the chocolate, so that we can cover the cakes with it.”

Chaewon frowned, pointing at the whipped cream that they had managed to squeeze in a dispenser. “I thought we were putting the cream and strawberries.”

“The more stuff, the merrier!”

She closed the door of the bathroom, picking up one of her clean shirts from where they had hanged to dry off. After the absolute lack of faith displayed by Jungeun, would Jiwoo be considered a traitor for not leaving a piece of cake behind for her best friend? Or was that exactly what she deserved?

On one side, if she left cake slices for Heejin and Hyunjin, Jungeun would complain about it, even though she would know that it was exactly what she deserved. On the other side, was there anything better than having her best friend taste the amazing cake and then telling her ‘ _I told you so_ ’?

She pulled out her phone.

** To: Kim Lip **

** Text ** : _there is a surprise waiting for you at home :O_

She made to add some more when Chaewon knocked on the bathroom door.

“Ehi, Jiwoo? I think there is something wrong with the chocolate!” she called out.

The calmness of her voice was what managed to trick Jiwoo into thinking everything was okay. 

That’s way she took a few more seconds to dust her shirt and add it to the laundry pile before walking back in the living room.

But the moment she was out, the _distinct_ smell of burning had all the calm from before evaporating into thin air. 

“Holy shit, is the cake burning?” She screamed out, rushing towards her roommate.

Chaewon looked relatively calm, although slightly puzzled. “I was waiting for the chocolate to melt,” she answered instead, pointing at the microwave.

“Oh my god!” Shouted Jiwoo again, opening the microwave and pulling out the glass full of chocolate. “That’s not how you- HOLY JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!” 

The boiling glass shattered on the floor, Jiwoo jumping and waving her burned hands in the air. “OW, OW, OW, FUCK IT HURTS!”

“Stop jumping, there is shards everywhere and-”

“Don’t touch them without gloves-”

“-Fucking fuck!” cursed Chae, dropping the shard that had just cut her palm. “Why the fuck is it so sharp?”

“It’s fucking glass, oh fuck my hands!” Jiwoo wanted more than anything to put both of her hands under a jet of frozen water, but she was not wearing shoes and there was glass all around her. Also, “Oh shit, the cake is gonna burn! Ouch, Chae, turn off the stove.”

“On it,” coughed the younger girl, the smoke from the microwave getting to her. It didn’t seem broken - _yet_ \- but neither of the girls liked the way it was fuming like a chimney.

“What are you-”

If you looked at it from the bright side, Chaewon did turn off the oven. On the other side, she turned off every electric appliance in the entire apartment. Jiwoo couldn’t even say anything about that, watching helplessly as the blonde opened the main door to help the smoke out of the apartment.

“I heard screaming,” and great, here was Sooyoung, watching the inside of the apartment even more horrified than the last time she had been there. “Holy shit. What happened here?”

Even as she asked, she advanced into the apartment, immediately noticing all the shards of glass on the floor, the still fuming microwave, the drops of blood on the floor and Chaewon’s arm and the way Jiwoo was shaking her hands in pain.

“Give me one minute.”

+

About five minutes later, a very embarrassed Jiwoo was sitting on Sooyoung’s couch, hands outstretched and still tingling and chocolate all over her trousers.

Sooyoung was crouched between her legs, dabbing some cream on her hands. “I cannot believe you decided to melt the chocolate in a microwave.”

Chaewon shrugged, only wincing when Jinsoul dabbed a little alcohol on her wound. “She just said ‘melt the chocolate’. She didn’t tell me how.”

“You could have simply asked,” mused Jinsoul, laughing a little. “Thank god you girls didn’t get hurt too much.”

“Here,” finished Sooyoung, making sure the clean bandage she had applied wasn’t too tight. “It shouldn’t blister, but let me know if it hurts.”

“Done!” called out Hyejoo, returning to the apartment, a black bin bag in her hands. “There is no more glass on the floor, just blood.”

Jiwoo looked between the two sisters and sighed. “Thank you. I just wanted to do something nice for you guys, and instead I managed to look like more of a klutz than ever.”

“We don’t think you are a klutz,” tried to soothe her Sooyoung, while Hyejoo snorted, heading back to her bedroom.

“Speak for yourself. I think all five of them are a mess.”

“Back to you,” immediately answered Chaewon, without even looking at her, and both Jinsoul and Sooyoung laughed.

When she noticed that Jiwoo was still pouting, Sooyoung’s smile became gentler. “Look, I get feeling like you owe me something because I’ve been helping you guys and whatnot, but honestly: you don’t.” Jiwoo didn’t look convinced, and Sooyoung patted her head. “I _love_ helping people. Why else do you think that, despite how much of a little shit my sister is, I let her stay with me? Or even though I complain a lot, I always make sure Jinsoul and Yerim are well fed, and sometimes even go that extra mile for Haseul, even though she is way more mature than I am?” she shrugged, standing back up. “I like it. That’s just who I am.”

Jinsoul nodded gravelly, stepping away from Chaewon to sit next to her. “Gave me all sort of complexes and kind of made me feel inferior when we were younger, but she is not perfect. There will be a time when she fails at something, and you can help her then. I heard you make a mean coffee.” at her nod, she smirked. “Well, Sooyoung sucks at making coffee. Boom, you have the upper hand here.” 

Both girls laughed at that, and Jinsoul winked at her. “See? For now just sit back and enjoy the Sooyoung treatment.”

And well… that wasn’t so terrible, now, was it?

Then the door of Sooyoung’s apartment opened again, Haseul stepping in this time with the air of someone who had just come back from a funeral. Jinsoul immediately stood up, going towards her friend. “Hey, Suel. Are you okay?”

Haseul just stared at her. “So, Vivi had to go back to her ex-husband in Ilsan because one of the babies just died.” she turned back to Sooyoung, who was staring at her in shock. “Do you have any alcohol?”


	3. week three: the one with the hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 04/11**
> 
> best friends and alcohol are a terrible mix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ajj i almost forgot to upload this, even though i promised myself to post weekly on sundays! Hope u guys enjoy it and uh, tw for alcohol mention?

Haseul wasn’t one to call herself great, or the best; however, if Yeojin and Vivi’s reactions to her cooking was anything to go by, she had really out done herself.

Vivi turned around, as if sensing that Haseul was thinking about her and she smiled, stretching out her hand.

“Can you pass me that towel?”

“You really should have let Yeojin do the dishes,” complained Haseul, throwing the cloth at her. “It was her day. You let her get away with everything.”

“Me?” Vivi laughed, wiping the last of the plates. “You are the one who thinks she can do nothing wrong like ever!”

This. This entire exchange, this entire atmosphere, the collection of all little moments like this... 

It made Haseul want to cry, how perfect this looked, how somewhat easy it seemed. Her, cooking after a day at work, Vivi complaining that she was gonna clean since she cooked, the two of them coddling Yeojin way more than she deserved… it was like a little family; two wives and… a Yeojin.

Sooyoung’s words from the day before kept intruding into her mind.

“That’s you. You’re the one who has to ask.”

She was the one who was supposed to make the first move, to tell Vivi about her feelings. 

She looked up at the pink haired girl, who had finished washing up and was simply looking at Haseul, and smiled. No one looked at you like that without being into you, right? Maybe Sooyoung wasn’t so wrong. Maybe she should -

Vivi’s phone ringing interrupted her thoughts, the girl looking away from Haseul and frowning at her device.

Haseul watched her answer and immediately moved towards the fridge. She needed some caffeine or something before she could actually speak to Vivi about anything. Before she could reach for one of the mugs, however,

“Holy shit!”

She turned back to Vivi, who’s face had become very serious in the matter of a few seconds. 

“God, of course. I’ll be there!”

Vivi looked very worried, and Haseul felt a little chill in her chest, the same chill she always felt before things went incredibly wrong: when she failed an exam, when Yeojin got in an accident, when her parents died.

The moment Vivi turned off the phone, she was on her. “What’s going on?”

The other was barely paying attention, rushing to her bedroom. “I have to go right now. It’s…” she paused, reaching out for her purse and key, “It’s my ex.”

Oh. 

Haseul knew that Vivi had been married before. The other said that her husband and her were still the bestest friends, despite not really ever speaking to Haseul about him. She had never even seen a picture of the guy.

She shook her head, watching Vivi grabbing a small bag in a rush. “Well, uh… is everything okay?”

‘Of course nothing is okay’, Haseul wanted to smack her own head. Who acted like that after a conversation with their ex-husband if everything was okay?

“No,” Vivi had grabbed everything she needed, putting on her shoes. “One of the babies died.”

That was not what Haseul expected to hear. The babies. Uh. What?

“I have to get there immediately,” continued Vivi, unaware of the expression on Haseul’s face. “God, I should… I’ll see you!”

She didn’t wait for Haseul to reply or say anything at all, instead rushing outside.

“Condolences,” managed Haseul a full 20 seconds after Vivi had left.

Then she headed for the door too, going in the opposite direction of Vivi.

“... and here I am now,” concluded Haseul, taking another gulp of her beer.

Her, Sooyoung and Jinsoul had locked themselves in Jinsoul’s apartment a few minutes after Haseul’s ragged appearance in Sooyoung’s door, and been drinking while they listened to Haseul.

Jinsoul shook her head because this? It didn’t make sense.

“Since when did Vivi have kids?” questioned Sooyoung after a moment, taking a sip of alcohol too. “It doesn’t make sense that she has never mentioned them.”

Jinsoul nodded vigorously. “Right? How long has she been living here? I swear she has never gone back to Hong Kong after moving here?”

“Actually, he lives here too,” told them Haseul, nonchalant. She hadn’t been drinking heavily, but she looked already disengaged from the conversation. “They talk on the phone and she saw him last New Years. That’s why she didn’t come with us.”

“But she has never mentioned children at all?” pressed Jinsoul, looking exultant when the girl nodded. “There is no way they are her children then. With the way she acts with Yeojin, she would not have left her children with her ex-husband and barely ever saw them.”

“Unless she lied.” Added Haseul. “Maybe she sees them everyday and she just never told us because we are not really friends.”

Neither of the two engaged with her. “Perhaps it’s his children!” Sooyoung’s eyes were sparkling. “Maybe he had children with someone else after they broke up, and while she doesn’t know them much, she still cares for them.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Jinsoul turned to Haseul, smiling. “That makes sense, right?”

The younger of the trio pursed her lips, as if in thought. Then, “Do you have any more beer?”

The blonde frowned at Haseul, “Are you alright, Seullie?”

Haseul finally focused on her. While her outside mood hadn’t changed since she had shown up at Sooyoung’s door, it was the first time Jinsoul and Sooyoung could see… something in her eyes. Something really hurt.

Of course they were curios about why Vivi had gotten up and left all of a sudden. But Haseul was also clearly hurting, and talking about it was not helping her in any way.

Sooyoung passed her and Jinsoul some beer. “I’m gonna go sleep in Jinsoul’s room and you,” she pointed at Haseul, “are not going back to your apartment tonight. I’ll send a message to Hyejoo to go sleep over with Yeojin.”

“And Yerim too,” added Jinsoul, before Haseul could complain. “I have the day off tomorrow, so let’s get absolutely smashed.”

Haseul seemed to think about it, then shrugged. “All I heard was more alcohol.”

“Hell yeah!”

+

Yeojin stared at the two girls at her door with an arched eyebrow for a couple of seconds. “Nice pyjamas, Son.”

“Shut up, Yeojin,” huffed Hyejoo, pushing past the cackling younger girl and heading towards her and Haseul’s bedroom. 

“What’s going on?”

Yerim closed the door after her. “We are sleeping over, Jinsoul and Sooyoung’s orders. Your sister is fine,” she added immediately, when Yeojin’s eyes started looking troubled. “She is just really drunk with Jinsoul and Vivi apparently left?”

Yeojin narrowed her eyes, joining Hyejoo on Haseul’s bed. Their bed was a bunk bed with a king size lower bunk for Haseul and a single bed on top for Yeojin.

“That’s weird,” she mused. “Everything looked normal at dinner today? I mean,” she got more comfortable as Yerim joined on her other side, “they were flirting with their eyes and all, but nothing different from the usual?”

“She’s fine.” let her know Hyejoo, avoiding eye contact. She had seen Haseul coming over earlier, and knew that something was going on with Vivi, but letting Yeojin know now would do the girl no good. The two girls were basically alone in the world, and their bond was incredible - especially to Hyejoo, who constantly fought with her own sister. Sisters.

“You should go to sleep though. Don’t you have class tomorrow?”

Both Yeojin and Yerim looked at her in matching deadpan expressions.

“Tomorrow is Saturday.”

The purple haired girl snickered. “Wow, is that what dropping out of school does to you?”

Hyejoo rolled her eyes, glad that the topic of drunk Haseul was dropped even if it was at her own expenses. “It also gives me a lot of free time to think and plenty of sleep everyday. Something you girlies can’t relate to.”

She heard more than felt, Yeojin’s punch and did her best not to laugh at the silly attempt. 

“Some of us like our course.” pointed out the girl again. A pause. “Also, Haseul would kill me if I ever thought about it.”

Yeah, that sounded more like it.

“I have thought about dropping my course before,” said Yerim, thoughtful. “When you did. Because we always did everything together, you know?” She shrugged. “But then I just realised it was not worth it. I know that studying theatre and performing is slightly cliché of me, but at the same time one day I want to be on the other side of that television, you know? I figured our it was worth it.”

Yeojin nodded. “Uhm. I don’t actually know what I want to do with myself, at the end of my course. All I really know is that I love Korean Literature, and Haseul was okay with me doing what I liked until I figured it out. I have no idea what I will be doing once I’m out of university, though.”

To that Hyejoo could relate. 

She had previously been enrolled into the same university as Yerim, both of them studying theatre. But, like Yerim had previously said, the only reason she was there in the first place was because Yerim was there. They had been close friends since childhood, since Yerim was Jinsoul’s favourite cousin and Sooyoung and Jinsoul were best friends. Hyejoo had thought it made sense for her to do what Yerim was doing – it was how they had worked their entire life.

But the longer the course dragged, the more she hated it. 

Yerim was a natural, both at the theory and the practical aspects of the course. She enjoyed it. Hyejoo was awkward and never felt comfortable in class, got bored while doing any group task, and just… hated it.

It took the advice of someone over the fortnite server for her to decide to quit, however. One of her favourite gamers – someone by the name of GOWON – had saw her complaining online about her course and just asked her, “Why don’t you drop out? It’s what I did.”.

Now, stranger danger, don’t take advice from people you don’t know, yadda yadda. Hyejoo had heard all the warnings, but Gowon’s advice was interesting. And frightening, cause the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.

And when she had finally mustered the courage to discuss it with Sooyoung, the girl hadn’t been mad about it. She had been worried, of course, listening to what Hyejoo said, but hadn’t fought her on it in the slightest. All she said was “Okay. Take some time to figure it out for yourself. But you’re the one who has to tell mom and dad.”

Well, Hyejoo hadn’t told her parents yet, but you know… one step at a time.

She tuned back in the conversation, which had thankfully gone from education to,

“Are you kidding? Seojoon was totally into Yeseo, since the beginning. Did you not see the scene where she falls in Uju’s lap?”

“And why did she fall? Because Kijoon was teasing her, and you know the playground rule!” a beat. “If he’s pulling on your pigtails, he has no concept of consent because his parents only taught him that boys will be boys. Oh, and he has a crush on you.”

Hyejoo closed her eyes.

+

“Jinsoul,” slurred Haseul, after a few minutes of the girl being quiet. “Did you fall asleep?”

“Sleep?” asked an equally drunk Jinsoul, sitting up. “In the middle of a party?”

“Cheers!” chuckled the first, then she shook her head. “What is wrong with me.”

Jinsoul had, for some reason, moved to pet Haseul’s head. “You’re too pretty, Seul. No fair.”

“No, you. You got all the girls and all the boys in school, Soul.”

The blonde poked her head. “Cause you always said ‘no’ to all of them. You never said yes.”

“Because,” Haseul grabbed her face in her hand, “I always like people who never like me back. Remember?”

“I like you back!” squealed Jinsoul, before falling down in a fit of giggles.

“You’re drunk,” accused Haseul, producing an empty can of beer. “Why?”

“Because alcohol.”

“You’re so wise.” She sighed, and her face turned sour again. “Why doesn’t Vivi like me back.”

“She does.”

“It’s like I barely know her.” She continued, like Jinsoul hadn’t spoken. “All this time I thought that I was giving her space, by not asking her too many questions, allowing her to leave her past – whatever it was – behind her. Now…” she tried to take a sip out of the empty can, then frowned. “It’s like I don’t even know her that well.”

Jinsoul sat up, patting Haseul’s arm. “You are perfect, and I bet she misses you immensely. Bet all she’s done is blow up your phone crying because she misses you.”

Drunk Haseul liked this option, no matter how much of a bad person it might make her. “Yeah?”

“Oh Haseul,” called out Jinsoul, in a terrible imitation of Vivi’s voice. “Oh, I love you so much. Oh, Haseul, I miss you, you’re my favourite…”

“Shut up,” giggled Haseul. “You’re the best.” A beat. “After beer. Is there any more beer?”

The blonde looked around herself for a few minutes, shaking her head. “Just a pair of scissors.”

Haseul’s eyes lit up. “I have an idea.”

+

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

Sooyoung nearly fell in her haste of getting out of the bed and reach the source of the scream. 

She had gone off to bed hopeful that Jinsoul would keep Haseul out of trouble, but the moment she stepped into Jinsoul’s living room, her hand flew to her mouth, as she stared in shock at Haseul and wondered what made her think that drunk Jinsoul was more responsible than sober Jinsoul.

Haseul turned to Sooyoung, eyes almost bloodshot. “Look what she did to me!” 

“You asked me to!” shouted back Jinsoul from the bathroom, and Haseul screamed louder, pounding on the door.

This was serious. Haseul looked upset. Sooyoung should take it seriously.

She bent over on the floor, holding tightly on her stomach as she howled with laughter. 

“What the fuck?!” complained Haseul, but Sooyoung couldn’t stop laughing.

“You look,” she gasped for hair, another fit of laughter overtaking her, “Oh god, what did you guys do? Did you never go to sleep?” She snorted mid laughter. “Oh god, your hair.”

Her hair was… interesting. It was like a toddler had tried to cut it at shoulder length and, unable to cut in a straight line had kind of zigzagged, leaving several parts untouched and demolishing others. 

“It was fucking Jinsoul’s fault,” she groaned, dropping on the floor, with tears in her eyes. She ran a finger through her hair, “My poor hair!”

The door opened a little, “You asked me, first of all, and you cut mine too -AH!” Jinsoul closed the door before Haseul could grab her again. “I said I’m sorry!”

“Come out!” growled Haseul, banging at the door with her fist. “Come out you piece of shit!”

“NEVER!”

Sooyoung wiped the lone tear from the corner of her eye and shook her head. “God, this is why I told you guys not to drink so much. How do you not have a hangover?”

“You forget everything about pain when your hair looks like mine.” muttered Haseul, before she turned to Sooyoung. Her angry look turned into one of mourning. “What do I do with my hair now? Wear a wig until it grows back? Shave it all off?” she looked horrified. “Oh god, I’m going to have to stay in my apartment until all of my hair grows back, won’t I?”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” huffed Sooyoung, shaking her head. “Get one of the hats from my apartment and then we’ll go to my hairdresser and beg her for a miracle.”

“I have hats in my bedroom!” called out Jinsoul, and the black haired girl snorted.

“Unless you want to stay in your bathroom and trust that Haseul is gone and won’t kill you, I’d wait till her hair is somewhat fixed before you see her.” 

Haseul looked up at her in betrayal, but she didn’t disagree with the statement.

+

When Hyejoo walked back to her sister’s apartment, Sooyoung wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Yeojin behind her frowned. “Where is everyone?”

Yerim had already opened the fridge, grabbing ingredients for breakfast, but the rest of the apartment looked empty. 

Hyejoo closed Sooyoung’s bedroom, shaking her head. “Not here. I assume they went to get something to eat instead of having to cook.” she mused. “I cannot imagine my sister drunk, no matter how hard I try.”

“Jinsoul is such a lightweight,” snorted Yerim, before paling. “Not that I know anything about drinking, or have ever- oh, who’s going to believe either of you over me?”

Yeojin sat down at the table, pouting. “I am the very face of innocence, how dare you, Choi Yerim?”

“You? Innocent?” even Hyejoo laughed at that. “You are like a mini Satan.”

“I am adorable.”

“You’re a little monster, that’s what you are,” finished Hyejoo, grabbing an apple. 

“But you cannot deny I’m cute,” decided Yeojin suddenly, looking at her with as much aegyo as she could muster.

Hyejoo appeared to consider this for a second. “You are not not cute,” she conceded, and Yeojin exulted at that. Yerim arched an eyebrow.

“Are you growing soft on me, Son?”

“Worry about making breakfast, Choi.”

The door opened then, Jinsoul’s head peeking through. She looked around for a few seconds, suspicious, before stepping inside the room. “They are not here, right?”

Yerim immediately narrowed her eyes at her, the fizzling pan behind her momentarily pausing. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” huffed the blonde, stepping closer to the trio. “Do you need help?”

“NO!” Shouted all three girls immediately, making the older pout. 

“You guys are so mean,” she complained, sliding in one of the chairs. 

Hyejoo squinted at her hair ends for a few seconds. “Did you cut your hair?”

Jinsoul immediately stood back up, hands going to her hair. “Oh god, it’s visible isn’t it? I told Sooyoung it was glaringly obvious that someone had viciously attacked me with a pair of scissors, but she said I was fine and to get over myself!”

Yerim didn’t seem to believe her 100%. “What did you do?” she repeated, grabbing some plates for the others.

“How bad is it, doctor?” she asked, ignoring Yerim’s question. 

“Not too bad,” decided Hyejoo after a quick assessment. “I can balance it out for you, if you want.”

The blonde looked at her, sceptical. “You can do that?”

“Hyejoo is a girl of many talents,” decided Yerim, finally sitting down on the chair with her plate. “Now, without evading the question: what did you do that had you sneaking in here all scared and that ended up with you getting a chunk of your hair cut off?”

“You know, technically, I am the older one. I should be the one giving you the third degree,” complained Jinsoul, but Yerim fixed her with a glare.

“Jinsoul.”

She sighed. “Fine.” For being only 20 years old and a general happy pill, the girl could look quite stern and intimidating. “Me and Haseul were drunk and one thing led to another and uh… I choppedsomeofherhairoff.”

“Uh?” Yeojin blinked at her.

“I chopped some of her hair off,” finally mumbled the older girl, wincing when Hyejoo snapped the hair scissors next to her head.

Yerim and Yeojin stared at her open mouthed, while Hyejoo snorted. 

“You balded Haseul?”

Jinsoul would have turned around to show her how indignated she was at the accusation if, you know, the scissors in Hyejoo’s hands didn’t look so much like a weapon. 

Yeojin came out of her reverie first. “How did Haseul not kill you, this morning?”

“Sooyoung took her on an emergency hairdresser appointment the moment she tried to maim me. Not before she got a swipe at some of my hair though,” she said, mournfully. She saw Hyejoo putting down the scissors and looked at her in shock. “Wait. You’re done already?”

The younger nodded, looking satisfied. “Yeah. How does it look?”

“Oh my god,” gasped Yerim, walking behind Jinsoul, looking at her hair reverently. “Did you reattach the old hair? How did you manage this with just a pair of scissors in like a minute?”

Hyejoo shrugged, looking a little proud of herself. “It looks good?”

Yeojin nodded, while Jinsoul went to check her hair in Sooyoung’s bedroom mirror. “I am so jealous of you, sometimes,” she decided, munching on Yerim’s freshly scrambled eggs.

“Me?”

“Yeah,” swallowed Yeojin. “You like are so good at so many different things, it’s amazing. You could literally do anything you want, no matter what it is, and you would be amazing at it.”

Yerim nodded immediately. “Oh, you put it into words! Seriously, I think this and the fact that I love the course, were the only reasons I didn’t follow you when you dropped out.” She took a gulp of her drink. “Like, you dropping out was fine because you could get involved with anything and be the best at it. You could even go to any idol company you wanted and debut on the same day. Me? Eh.”

“You’re talented,” protested Hyejoo, cheeks turning rosy.

The purple haired girl waved a hand. “You are on a different level, though.” When Hyejoo tried to complain again, Yerim rolled her eyes. “Just take the damn compliment, Son.”

Finally, Hyejoo smiled. “Thank you, Choi.”

Haseul and Sooyoung walked through the door then, the shorter girl hiding behind an amused and slightly annoyed Sooyoung. “Jesus, Haseul. You look fine. You know you look good.” She noticed the three girls at the table and gave them a nod. “Hey girls.”

“Hey. Haseul, Haseul, let down your hair!” called out Yeojin immediately.

Haseul finally peeked her head from behind Sooyoung, looking shy and self conscious. “Please even if it’s terrible, don’t make fun of me.” She ran a hand through it, looking nervous. “I’ve never had hair this short before.”

Hyejoo and Yeojin, who had been hellbent on making fun of her the moment she stepped inside the room, were taken aback. Yerim smiled brightly.

“Wow, Haseul. Who knew you could pass for such a hottie?” she whistled, impressed.

Haseul scrunched up her nose, still playing with her hair ends. “It’s not terrible?”

“It actually suits you really well,” managed Yeojin, nodding slightly. “I approve. It brings out your inner sapphic.”

At this her sister rolled her eyes, moving towards the table more confidently. “Scrambled eggs and milk?”

Hyejoo pointed between the two of them accusingly. “Had it been for you two we would have starved. You left Jinsoul with us.”

“I resent that!” let out Jinsoul, finally appearing from Sooyoung’s room. She looked nervously at Haseul, before surprise coloured her features. “Oh wow. Seul, you look hawt.”

The other had clearly planned to continue being mad at Jinsoul for a while, but the compliment warmed her up immediately. “You think?”

“Yeah!” she moved towards the girl, appraisingly. “I’d definitely get all up on that.”

“And you’re not alone!” commented Sooyoung, stealing Hyejoo’s plate. “The cute hairdresser gave her number to Haseul.”

Haseul rolled her eyes, “She wants more customers, clearly.”

“She has custom made ones for customers. And I’m sure she doesn’t write it on their hands with a heart at the end.”

“Atta girl!” whistled Yerim, to which Haseul just blushed.

Then she turned to Yeojin. “I left my phone home yesterday. Did anyone call or anything?”

“Nope,” said her sister, popping the ‘p’. “But you got notifications for Vivi’s Instagram. She posted on her story.”

Everyone quietened out, their eyes immediately on the Im sisters.

“Oh,” said Haseul, blinking slowly. “What was the post?”

Yeojin looked like she didn’t want to say it, which did not make Haseul in any rush of checking it herself. 

“Uh. One was a picture of her with her ex-husband with the caption ‘Missed my best friend’.” Haseul’s expression didn’t change. Yeojin was kind of afraid. “And the second was a picture with Hyunjin.”

That got her attention. “Hyunjin?”

“From 6B,” confirmed Yeojin.

It wasn’t any easier to understand what was going on in Haseul’s mind at the time. But one feeling was clear as water: resignation.

It wasn’t something that belonged to Haseul’s face. Hyejoo and Yerim turned back to their food to avoid looking at her eyes for too long.

Yeojin looked worried. “Seul?”

At her sister’s voice, Haseul smiled immediately. “Oh, I’m okay. Don’t worry. Actually,” she smiled again, fake, and started towards the door. “I’m actually going to get my phone to save cute hairdresser’s number.” She winked at Sooyoung. “Gotta get myself back in the game, after all.”

“Seul,” tried Jinsoul.

But Haseul had closed the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can bbc ship the season greetings already


	4. week four: the one with the Instagram comment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 11/11**
> 
> Everyone knows that if it's on twitter AND it's on instagram then that's official. Welcome to the 21st century of wooing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, remembering to post! Are you proud? Let's see how long I can keep this up since the new semester is starting tomorrow.

When Jungeun went downstairs, she had expected to be the only one there. After all, it was almost Wednesday afternoon, and, for most people, that meant breaking their backs at work because it was the middle of the week.

So she couldn’t help but be surprised when she saw her neighbour in the laundry room, singing along to T-ARA’s _Time To Love_ , her hair tied up in twin space buns on the top of her head.

Jungeun didn’t announce her presence, instead watching quite amused as the blonde in front of her attempted to sing both female and male parts at the same time, using the lid of a softener as a makeshift in ear appliance, eyes closed.

She had a good voice, Jungeun had to give her that. It was quite rich in tone and from the way she went from male to female voice, it was clear she had a large range. It was nice to listen to and -

“Oh my god!” gasped Jinsoul, freezing in an awkward spin and looking surprised and embarrassed at Jungeun. “How long have you been here?”

Jungeun also felt a little embarrassed. It wasn’t like she had planned on getting caught staring at her neighbour, after all. “Not too long,” she evaded, grabbing the laundry basket she had brought down with her. “I didn’t expect to see anyone here,” she added then, attempting to change topic. In her opinion Jinsoul didn’t have anything to be embarrassed for- her voice was good; however, since she looked uncomfortable at having been caught, Jungeun was willing to ignore it.

The blonde shrugged, sitting down on one of the chairs as she watched Jungeun unloading her stuff in one of the washing machines. “Wednesday is my day off in the week, so I tend to do most of the housework then.”

“Me too,” hummed Jungeun, feeding some liquid detergent to the machine. “Well, technically I also have Sundays, but usually _everyone_ is doing their load for the week on Sundays, and I’d rather not be in the middle of it all.”

“Right?” Jinsoul smiled, crossing her legs together. “That’s what I always say to Sooyoung, but she says it’s boring if she’s the only one doing the washing and no one else?”

“ _Boring_?” Jungeun snorted after turning on the appliance, coming to sit next to Jinsoul. “What’s boring about having an entire place to yourself and no one else to share it with?”

Jinsoul looked at her sideways. “5 people in one apartment is a lot of trouble, uh?”

The other nodded, huffing. “I mean, we mostly stay out of each other’s way, and to be honest, I barely see them most of the week. But it is annoying and gross finding bathroom hair clogging the drain and none of them admitting to it, or being unsure if you lost something or one of the other four just ‘borrowed’ it without asking.” Four because it didn’t matter how close they were, when something of hers went missing, Jiwoo was _also_ and _always_ in the list of suspects.

“Cannot say I relate 100%, since it’s only two of us in my apartment,” said Jinsoul, “But Yerim used to be a terrible pain in the ass when we first moved here.”

“She looks adorable,” let out Jungeun, trying not to smile. _As if_ she could be best friends with Kim Jiwoo and be unaware that looks could be deceiving.

The blonde snorted. “God, she was so terrible when we moved in together. Always all over the place, I never had a moment to breathe.” she shook her head, “Although main reason was that I had just started working at the primary school, and couldn’t afford to be distracted; and her middle name is _Distraction_.”

Jungeun’s attention was caught by another detail. “You work at a primary school?”

Jinsoul smiled, proud. “Yeah! I am a teacher.” At Jungeun’s stupor, she winked, “I look to hot too be one, don’t I.”

The younger girl’s eyes widened for a second, before she forced her expression back into one of calm and serenity. “I just wouldn’t have pegged you for the teacher type?”

“Teachers have a type?” wondered the blonde aloud, then smiled again. “Yeah, I’m a teacher. I’ve always loved children, I’m really good at taking care of them, so it just made sense.”

“Made sense?”

Jinsoul shrugged. “Well, at the beginning, I wanted to be a singer.” she explained, blushing a little.

That did surprise Jungeun. “You mean when you were younger or?”

The blonde shook her head. “No, growing up people always told me I had a very good voice and stuff.”

“You do.”

Jinsoul pretended not to hear that. “So for a while I went to auditions and stuff, trying to,” she made quotations marks with her fingers, “‘ _make it_ ’ in the big city of Seoul.” she rolled her eyes. “Which was a lost cause, of course. Thousands of people come to Seoul to become amazing artists, but less than 1% of them actually get casted in anything. And even if you get casted, what are the chances of success? Nearly zero.”

Jungeun’s smile had disappeared. “Nearly is different from zero.”

“It might as well be equal to. I liked singing, but at the end of the day it’s more of a hobby than an actual occupation,” she finished.

“So what,” finally said Jungeun, after a few moments of silent, “you think I’m just chasing a stupid dream and should just give up?”

Jinsoul looked up at her frowning. Then her expression turned in one of mortification immediately. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean,”

“You didn’t mean what? Saying that all I’m doing here is waste my time since I will never become a singer? That I should look for an _actual_ career and forget all about singing?” 

Jungeun considered herself someone rational, able to take and accept criticism. And god knows, she had gotten a lot of criticism, growing up.

But, there was just something about Jinsoul, dancing and singing in the laundry room with a voice like _that_ and then proceeding to tell her that singing was something that could only be a hobby -

“I am so sorry,” repeated Jinsoul, standing up from her chair. Even with the space buns on top of her head and the colourful shirt she was wearing, she somewhat looked like she was 100 times wiser and more smart than Jungeun ever was. “I was just babbling and saying stupid stuff, I obviously,”

“I have to go,” interrupted her Jungeun, standing up. Jinsoul looked like a kicked puppy, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right then. “I have forgotten some stuff upstairs. See you later, Jinsoul.” 

The blonde watched her go, mortified. Now, how was she meant to mend _that_?

+

Wednesdays were one of Sooyoung’s worst days. Everyone worked on Wednesdays, which meant by lunchtime the restaurant was always overflowing with the most annoying and different characters at the same time.

Sooyoung was always locked in the kitchen with Yoona, trying to make an asparagus salad without salad for this customer, spending hours on the line with experts because another customer wanted to be 100% sure their mushrooms weren’t cross contaminated with gluten and personally handpicking onion slices out of a sauce because there was a child who was spoiled enough to demand that even at a restaurant. 

It was hell.

“Sooyoung!” called a voice right as the chef was about to open the door of their condo complex, and she groaned. If it was someone trying to demand anything else from her…!

It wasn’t. But still she couldn’t make her mouth immediately smile when she saw Vivi and Hyunjin approaching the door.

The pink haired girl was smiling brightly at her as she climbed the small set of stairs, Hyunjin next to her just looking bored.

“Did you just get home?” she asked her, still smiling.

Sooyoung had a bunch of questions for Vivi too. Like for example, why was she with Hyunjin, a girl she barely knew, instead of being with Haseul? How come she had never called in the whole week she was away? Was she trying to lead Haseul on, and if so, did she know that Sooyoung and Jinsoul together could make her disappear and make it look like an accident?

But at the end of the day, she still _liked_ Vivi. They were friends, if anything. So she nodded. “Yeah, I nearly died 10 deaths and committed multiple murders, but I’m finally back.”

The pink haired girl looked at her sympathetic, patting her back. “Wednesdays are the worst,” she agreed, easily.

Sooyoung glanced at her from the corner of her eyes. “How was your… trip?” Vivi looked very calm for someone who had just attended a funeral. Her cheeks were a little flustered from the cold, but she was all smiley and happy. It was weird.

Vivi pointed at Hyunjin, who up until then had stayed quiet as they climbed the stairs. “I was so surprised when I saw Hyunjin there!” she said immediately, and Hyunjin nodded too. “It could have been worse, after all, so I’m glad she was there.”

That was _not_ what Sooyoung meant with her question at all. But technically it was not any of her business, and there was not any way for them to breach the conversation she wanted to have without looking suspicious.

So she just smiled and waved when they got to Vivi’s floor, frowning a little when Hyunjin gave her a hug before heading with Sooyoung upstairs.

Sooyoung glanced at her for a moment. “So… you and Vivi,” she said, pretending to be casual. “You guys dating or…” It was not working. 

Hyunjin made a face at that, then narrowed her eyes, immediately curios. “And you want to know because?”

The taller girl immediately rolled her eyes, “I’m just curios.”

It was clear Hyunjin wasn’t going to answer her though, so Sooyoung closed her mouth, walking the last steps towards her apartment in uncomfortable silence. Uncomfortable for her, at the very least; Hyunjin had a really good poker face.

“Hey, Sooyoung!” called Jinsoul the moment the girl walked inside.

Sooyoung made a face when she saw the blonde in her apartment, then sighed, falling on the couch. “I hate wednesdays.”

“I looove wednesdays,” answered Jinsoul, coming to sit next to her to massage her back.

“Oh god, Jinsoul, your hands,” she groaned, and Jinsoul just smirked satisfied. “You are god sent.”

“And yet, every time I open my mouth I just land myself in like 100 of different problems,” complained the blonde, and Sooyoung snorted.

“Amen to that. I just asked Hyunjin if her and Vivi had a thing and let me just say: that girl makes me so nervous-” Jinsoul stopped the massage abruptly, and Sooyoung looked up at her, frowning. “Hey! Why did you stop?”

Jinsoul was staring at her with wide eyes. “Hold on. Vivi and Hyunjin are back?”

Sooyoung sat back up when she realised that massage was officially over, pouting. “Yeah, they just got back I think. I met them at the main door.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that immediately instead of complaining about your day?” asked Jinsoul, standing up and hey! Rude. “We have to speak to her before Haseul gets home.”

The older girl didn’t look convinced. “Why do _we_ have to speak to her? Shouldn’t we stay _out_ of the situation?”

Jinsoul arched an eyebrow. “Do you remember what happened last time we decided to let them sort things out themselves?” at Sooyoung’s silence, she rolled her eyes. “Haseul ended up at my apartment drunk and with her hair chopped off.”

“Technically the hair was _your_ fault.”

“Why are we still trying to assign blame?” complained the blonde, pulling her friend up to her feet. “Let’s go.”

“Jinsoul…” complained the other, but she didn’t stop the girl from pulling her along and down the stairs again. “I just want the record to state that this was all your idea.”

“And yet we are _both_ here.”

Sooyoung glared. “Because _you_ dragged me here!”

“Potato tomato.”

“It’s tomato tomato.”

“I’m the teacher around here not you and - _Hey_ , Vivi!” Jinsoul said the moment the door opened, a huge smile on her face.

Vivi smiled back giving Jinsoul a quick hug. “Hey! I was about to hit the shower,” she let them in, closing the door after them. “Haseul and Yeojin are not home yet.”

“Yeojin dragged Hyejoo out to practice for next week’s street games,” explained, Sooyoung, sliding down on their couch immediately.

“We brought you something!” said Jinsoul, handing her a block of butter - ‘ _My_ butter!’, realised Sooyoung, glaring at her friend. 

Vivi looked at the block, perplexed. “uh… butter!” she glanced between the two of them, trying to decipher their motives. Instead she was met with two blinding smiles. She looked even more weirded out. “You shouldn’t have.”

‘Yeah,’ thought Sooyoung, trying hard not to scowl at Jinsoul. ‘You really shouldn’t have.’

“It was our pleasure!” answered Jinsoul, getting comfortable on the couch, just out of reach of Sooyoung’s feet. _Very smart girl._ “Now that we are here and are on the topic of butter, how come you didn’t call Haseul even once the whole time you were away?”

Sooyoung nearly choked on her own tongue. This was _not_ being subtle, Haseul was going to kill them. Both of them, because Sooyoung had just become accessory to a crime.

Vivi didn’t seem particularly concerned by the line of questioning. “There was barely any line over there, except for wifi. Plus, I wasn’t going to be away for that long.”

“Still,” pressed Jinsoul, ignoring the signals to _fucking stop_ Sooyoung was sending her way. “You could have sent her a kakao message or something. Haseul is like… your roommate and stuff, and she loves you and cares for you.”

The pink haired girl frowned. “I love and care for her too. And I didn’t realise she would be worried. If she was worried, she could have messaged me too.”

“Right!” said Sooyoung, sitting up. “Sorry for the intrusion, we should-”

“Okay but,” continued Jinsoul, like she could not hear Sooyoung. “Maybe she thought it was weird for her to message you when you were at your ex husband’s, and with another girl, on top of that.” she paused. “Condolences, by the way.”

“It wasn’t really a funeral. My ex-husband’s sugar gliders died, and he loved them very much.” Vivi explained. Then she rolled her eyes. “Why would Haseul even be jealous of Hyunjin? She loves me, and she trusts me.”

That made even Sooyoung pause, a sense of rage suddenly igniting in her chest. When she thought that perhaps Vivi simply wasn’t aware of Haseul’s feelings, it was easy to still be friends and everything. But if Vivi _knew_ about Haseul’s feelings then-

“What the fuck.” she said, now openly glaring at the older girl. “You know that Haseul loves you?”

Vivi looked like with every word the two girls let out, she was growing more and more confused. “Of course, I know. And she knows I love her too.”

Jinsoul and Sooyoung shared one look before the blonde turned back to Vivi. “Uhm.. I don’t think she does.”

“Of course she does. Why else would we be dating?”

Both Jinsoul and Sooyoung looked at each other. Then they turned to Vivi, who was staring at them. Then back to each other.

“You’re dating?!” finally asked Sooyoung, growing even more confused herself.

The pink haired girl looked between the two girls like she expected them to shout that this was all a joke. When they didn’t, she blinked in surprise. “Of course we are dating. We have been dating for months now.”

“Vivi, and I mean this with the utmost respect,” said Jinsoul, shaking her head a little. “But what the fuck?”

“Does Haseul even know you are dating?” added Sooyoung.

“Of course she does!” Vivi grabbed her phone from the table and came to sit between the two girls, scrolling through her screenshots. She fell silent for a couple of moments, until she stopped on the picture she was looking for. “Here.”

The picture was a screenshot of one of Haseul’s various tweet. It read,

** @iamimhaseul:  ** “can I get a girlfriend. can i _please_ get a girlfriend?”

** @wongviviofficial:  ** “Today is our first day, then  🥰 ”

@ **iamimhaseul:** “ 🥰🥺 ”

Sooyoung was the first to look back up at Vivi. The girl was staring at her like ‘I told you so’ and it was taking Sooyoung all of her strength to not smack her upside down.

“Vivi… you do realise that doesn’t actually mean you are dating?”

Vivi blinked. “Of course it does. I even have her name with a heart in my twitter _and_ instagram bio, and she has the same.”

“Vivi let me ask you this,” said Jinsoul after a few seconds. “Have you guys ever even kissed?”

“Once,” immediately answered the other and both Jinsoul and Sooyoung looked up at her in surprise. _That_ they didn’t know. “She was drunk and she kissed me, and then the next day she was crying and begging me to forget that ever happened and that she was sorry.” She looked up from her phone. “I thought it was because she might be asexual and uncomfortable with pda.”

Sooyoung didn’t even stop herself from smacking her own forehead. “Are you saying, that this whole time…”

“you were convinced you and Haseul were in a relationship together?” finished Jinsoul. Instead of being shocked like Sooyoung she seemed quite amused. “Oh my god.”

Slowly, it seemed like the two girls’ words were registering with Vivi. “Wait... are you saying that Haseul didn’t _know_ we were together?”

“She didn’t know you thought you guys were together,” corrected her Jinsoul and Vivi groaned, hiding her head on her lap. 

“Oh my god. This is embarrassing.”

“It’s not though!” immediately said Jinsoul, shaking her head. “This means that you guys just have to talk face to face about your relationship.”

Vivi looked up at her, miserable. “What if she doesn’t like me like-”

“Hell no!” interrupted Sooyoung, shaking her finger at her, threatening. “You were convinced you guys were dating up until a few seconds ago, and that’s because you _know_ she was in love with you.”

“But-”

“No buts!” Jinsoul, crossed her arms together, impressed by Son ‘let’s not get involved, it’s none of our business’ Sooyoung. “When Haseul walks in later today, you will go kiss and make up. Is this clear.”

Vivi swallowed, looking a little scared of Sooyoung all of a sudden. “Clear.”

“Good.” Sooyoung stood up, nodding once. “Now we will go back upstairs. And I’m taking back the butter, cause it’s mine and Jinsoul didn’t ask.”

+

Jungeun huffed, dragging a pile of now dry clothing from the hallway into her shared bedroom. She threw the contents of the basket inside the room and closed it.

She marched to the kitchen area, opening the fridge door loudly and grabbing a tupperwear. She all but threw the container in the microwave, smacking the door shut before clicking the numbers with ferocity.

Then she pulled out some cutlery from the drawer before kicking it back closed, and sitting down at the kitchen table.

“Are you done?” asked a voice once she was sat down, and Jungeun nearly jumped in surprise. She hadn’t even noticed she wasn’t the only one at home.

Heejin arched an eyebrow at her from where she was laying down on the couch.

“I didn’t know you were home,” finally said Jungeun, sighing. “Sorry.”

The other girl walked towards the fridge, pulling out a fresh apple. “Mmh. What’s got your knickers in a twist? Hyunjin stole your food?”

“She’s back?” asked Jungeun, surprised. “I didn’t even see her.”

Heejin motioned towards the other bedroom. “She came in a while ago and just went to sleep immediately.” She pouted. “When I asked her where she went she said to hell.”

“Heejin, why did you come to Seoul?”

The question came out of nowhere. The black haired girl paused mid bite, looking at Jungeun, curios. “Where is that coming from?”

Jungeun shrugged, not quite meeting her eye. “Humor me.”

The girl sat on the arm of the couch, and shrugged. “I want to be an artist. I like painting and drawing, and making things out of scratch with my own hands.” She sighed. “Of course, it’s incredibly hard in a city as complicated as Seoul. It’s full of opportunity, but you need way more than talent to make it in here.”

The other girl didn’t seem to like her answer, from the way she frowned. “Then why stay?”

Heejin shrugged again. “One chance in a billion is better than no chance at all. If I stayed Gyeonggi province, it would have been no chance for me at all. At least here, I can put myself out there.”

“And what if you don’t make it?” Jungeun was staring at her really hard. Heejin felt like she was being quizzed, but at the same time there was something in her eyes. “Are you going to give up?”

“Well, I won’t know I won’t make it until I’m on my deathbed, won’t I?” She snorted at Jungeun’s expression. “I’m not gonna stop because no one casted me or no one hired me. I’m doing what I like, and even if I have to work part time at a store to make rent, that doesn’t mean that I gave up. Art is what I love, so art is what I’m gonna do.”

She brought the apple back to her mouth, taking a big bite out of it. “But that’s just me.”

‘No.’, decided Jungeun, startling when the microwave dinged. ‘Not just her.’

+

Vivi was ready when the door opened again a few hours later.

She had a whole speech prepared to sway Haseul and tell her exactly what she felt and everything else. But the words died in her mouth once Haseul stepped through the door.

“Oh, wow,” was instead what she said.

Haseul paused in the door, surprised at seeing Vivi standing in the living room. Her hand flew immediately to her hair, and she blushed. “Oh, Vivi. Hey.”

“You cut your hair.” finally said the older girl, still staring at Haseul like a fish out of water.

Part of Haseul wanted to ask her if perhaps, she didn’t like, but she didn’t. Instead she shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Uh. Yeah.”

Vivi was still staring. “You look….”

_ Weird? Different? Bad? _

“... really hot.” finished the pink haired girl, and well Haseul wasn’t a magician. She couldn’t _stop_ herself from blushing.

“Thank you,” she said, facing downwards and immediately missing her long hair when the cut didn’t allow her to hide her face behind the hair. “How is your ex-husband?”

That snapped Vivi out of her reverie immediately. She advanced towards Haseul, who immediately stepped back, slightly alarmed. “Vivi?”

“I’m not dating Hyunjin.” said the older girl immediately.

“Okay,” Haseul hadn’t really thought that the two of them were dating, mind you. She had been slightly sad that _Hyunjin_ was the one there with Vivi, not jealous. “Good for you?”

Vivi was looking at Haseul like she was expecting the younger girl to say something but Haseul wasn’t quite sure what was going on. Unless...

She blinked at Vivi, worried for a moment. “Did Jinsoul and Sooyoung come in here? If so, ignore everything they said.” 

The older looked displeased, crossing her arms. “They said we weren’t dating,” she said eventually, her eyes boring in Haseul’s.

That… was _true?_ “We… we aren’t? Right?” They weren’t. But why did Vivi’s face turn like that when Haseul said it?

The older girl appeared frustrated. “Haseul. I commented on your post a few months ago saying that that day ‘was our first day as a couple’.”

She stepped forward, and Haseul stepped back as a reflex. She didn’t know what was going on. Was Vivi playing with her? “As a joke…”, her heart was beating faster than it was supposed to.

“You kissed me,” Vivi stepped forward again.

“I was drunk.”

“You always say that you love me,”

“So do you.” Now Haseul’s back was on the wall, and she had nowhere to go. Vivi was all up in her personal space and why was she looking at Haseul like _that?_ Last time they had seen each other, Haseul couldn’t help but think how beautiful and gentle she looked. Right now though, she looked...

“That’s because I love you,” _dangerous._

Haseul swallowed, lower lips wobbling when Vivi’s eyes went from her face to her mouth. “Me too.”

Vivi rolled her eyes. “No, Haseul. I’m in _love_ with you.”

_ Pause. _

_ Stop. _

_ Rewind. _

“What?”

Vivi wasn’t that tall, around the same height as Haseul, and probably not as strong. Then why couldn’t the younger girl free herself of Vivi’s eyes and run? 

“I meant it when I said that was our first day as a couple. I thought we were dating?” how could one look like _that_ and have their voice sound so _sweet_?

If this was a joke, Haseul was seriously going to cry and move out. She was going to kill both Jinsoul and Sooyoung and then throw their bodies in the ocean. Yerim and Hyejoo would probably help. “You’re in love with me?”

Instead of answering, Vivi grabbed her face in between her hands, pressing her lips to hers.

Vivi’s lips were soft, gentle. Not rushed, but slow, shaping themselves on Haseul’s like it was meant to be. Sweet.

Haseul had not waited almost a whole year for _sweet._

She turned them so that Vivi was the one on the wall and pressed her lips harder on Vivi’s because if this was a dream, if this was a joke, if this wasn’t real? Haseul would still remember how Vivi’s lips felt on hers.

But it wasn’t a dream, not if Vivi’s fingers pressing on her waist and her other hand on her cheek and god, Haseul was not going to wake up. Better to die.

“Well well well, look who grew a pair!” came Yeojin’s voice, amusement tinted in.

Haseul would never dream of Yeojin while she was kissing Vivi.

This was real.

She stopped kissing her for a second, both of them breathing hard as Yeojin laughed and closed the main door behind her. Haseul studied Vivi’s eyes, her smile, her expression.

“I’m in love with you too.”

Vivi’s smile simply grew bigger. “I knew that.”

* * *

It’s around 6 in the evening when Jungeun finally made it back to the apartment, exhausted beyond reproach. Honestly, they really should give retail workers one night a week in which they were allowed to talk back to customers and then hunt the most rude ones for sport. 

Her hands were itching to strangle at least 3 of her regulars.

“That’s not enough!”

“What do you even eat?”

She heard Yerim and Jinsoul’s voice before she even climbed the last flight of stairs, but she was still surprised when she saw Jinsoul.

Although they lived in the same complex, it wasn’t like they ran into each other all that often. Sure, Jiwoo had seemed to start a good friendship with Sooyoung, but, with the hours she worked, Jungeun didn’t really see anyone other than her roommates that often.

That was a long winded way to explain that, the few times she had seen Jinsoul, the girl had always looked kind of… plain. Not bad, in any way. Just, she had just looked like she could easily go to sleep in the same clothes she went out in. Like she wasn’t putting much efforts in her clothing.

Right now though… if she hadn’t recognised her voice before, Jungeun would doubt that it was the same girl.

Her long blonde hair was carefully combed on her back, a black cap adorning her head; she had a black bomber jacket on, that stopped high enough that you could see the way her blue jeans hugged her waist and her figure. 

“Hey, Jungeun!” trilled Yerim, noticing her at the top of the stairs, and Jungeun shook her head, looking away from Jinsoul’s figure. 

The blonde had now noticed her though, and immediately handed her cousin a card. “Fine, get whatever you want. And close the door! Jungeun,”

Jungeun had _almost_ managed to run in her apartment, but Jinsoul had been quicker, immediately coming to stand next to her.

Before she could say anything, the blonde was already talking. “I am so sorry about wednesday. It was incredibly rude of me to say all that stuff, but I swear I was not talking about you. Or Jiwoo. I was simply talking about myself.

“My experience was hard, and I gave up on singing, but that was just me. It was my choice, it was my life. When I was talking about it, I totally forgot that it was your choice in career too, and I was just venting about the fact that _I_ didn’t make it. 

“But me not making it, has no impact on you and your choices, and I wanted to apologise if in any way it felt like I was judging you.” Her eyes were wide and pleading.

The other shook her head, putting her bag down. “No, _I’_ m sorry. You were just giving your opinion and I just jumped you.” she gave her a small smile. “I honestly have been high strung lately, and I jumped on a chance to have an argument. It’s fine.”

Jinsoul didn’t seem convinced. “Yeah, but maybe if I hadn’t-”

“Jinsoul,” laughed Jungeun, shaking her head. “It’s fine. It’s both our fault. Better?”

Finally the blonde girl smiled back, nodding. “Yeah. Thank you for listening.”

Jungeun made to answer, but someone else called out.

“Yo Jinsoul. I have been waiting for ages!”

The younger girl turned around, noticing in surprise a young man standing on the stairs, an annoyed expression on his face.

His black hair almost hid his eyes, but Jungeun could still see them, twinkling with mischief. Jinsoul smiled again at Jungeun. “Sorry, I have to go.

“You’ve been waiting for less than 5, Hobi, stop being dramatic.” she called to the man, putting their arms together.

“You know how many seconds that is?” 

Jungeun watched them leave for a few moments, before shaking her head. A date probably; that’s why Jinsoul had looked like that.

She opened the door and went inside her apartment.


	5. week five: the one with the games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 18/11**
> 
> hyunjin is a jock and chaewon is a gamer. could i make it any more clear?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who said that heejin, chaewon and hyunjin aren't in loonas maknae line.
> 
> also the author is not a gamer, i dont know how gaming works, i dont even know what league of legends is, please dont k word me if i explained it wrong

“All right,” called out Heejin, the sound of the fridge shutting close starling Hyunjin. “Confess, and I’ll be merciful.”

“Confess what?” “I didn’t do it!” said both Chaewon and Hyunjin at the same time. The blonde arched an eyebrow, and Hyunjin winced. “I’d like to change my answer.”

Heejin was already glaring at her, though. “Can’t you get a job like every other fucking person on this planet and _stop_ stealing my food?”

Hyunjin’s attention returned to her phone. “You know, under communism this would be _our_ food.”

“South Korea is not a communist country,” seethed the smaller of the two, still scowling.

“Heejin, stop doing that with your face!” chided the other, barely suppressing a laugh. When Heejin didn’t change her expression, Hyunjin rolled her eyes. “Let’s recap for a moment. Who’s salt did you use to make the food?”

That took Heejin out of her loop. “Salt? I,” she frowned. “I don’t know. It was there.”

“My salt,” clarified Hyunjin. “Who’s can of half finished tuna did you use?”

Heejin crossed her arms around her chest, while Chaewon just observed them, amused. “If I didn’t use it, it would have gone bad.”

“Wrong answer. _My_ tuna,” she then winked at Heejin. “My tuna and my salt were indispensable for your tuna kimchi fried rice, ergo, _our food._ ”

When Heejin huffed and started towards the bathroom, Hyunjin felt slightly bad. But technically, her thinking wasn’t wrong, and even Heejin could agree with that. Plus, it wasn’t like Hyunjin would have taken anything if she thought it was important or that Heejin or any of her other roommates would seriously be mad about it.

For example, she never went anywhere near the food Jungeun left at the top shelf of the fridge, because she knew she got home late at night and that was probably her only _actual_ meal of the day.

But if, for example, Jiwoo ate something and left it outside instead of putting back in the fridge, it _clearly_ wasn’t that important to her so why shouldn’t Hyunjin eat it instead of her?

When Heejin finally emerged from the bathroom, though, the other still felt slightly compelled to apologize. Both of them had kind of got off the wrong foot and maybe playing tricks on her wasn’t that -

“SON HYEJOO SON HYEJOO SON HYEJOO SON HYEJOO!”

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

“Jesus,” complained Chaewon, even as Heejin and Hyunjin headed for the door. “Why are these girls so loud? I’m trying to work!”

“We can see the reflection of the game on the window behind you!” called out Hyunjin, before stepping outside, Heejin’s head peeking from behind her shoulder. “What is going on here?”

“SON HYEJOO, oh, hi girls!” smiled Yeojin, before turning back to the other door. “Open this door, SON HYEJOO.”

“FUCK YOU!”

Yerim, who was standing next to the shorter girl smiled. “Heejin, Hyunjin! How are you?”

“Good, up until the screaming started,” commented Heejin, shaking her head. “What does she want from Hyejoo?”

Yeojin stopped screaming for a second. “Well, the Street Games are starting today, but some LAZY BITCH doesn’t want to come the FUCK outside and help us win the FUCKING GAME!” The change of decibel without any apparent strain from her, was impressive.

“ROT IN HELL!”

“Have you ever thought of becoming a singer?” 

“What are the street games?” piped in Heejin, earning a glare from Hyunjin at the interruption.

“YOU’RE SO FUCKING ANNOYING!”

“SO ARE YOU!”

“The only actual fun we can get around here,” declared Yerim, brightening up. “Teams of at least 3 members compare in a variety of sport, from football, to ping pong, to tennis, to volleyball, etc. Takes place in the big Yongsan-gu Gym Fitness Centre 10 stops away from here once every season. Winner gets a trophy from each category and the team with the most trophies gets an even bigger trophy.”

“GET OUT HERE HYEJOO WE’RE GONNA BE LATE!”

“THEN GO ALREADY, I’M NOT COMING!”

Hyunjin perked up at that. “Hey, that actually sounds like fun?”

“FINE STAY THERE AND GET FAT AND DIRTY EATING CHIPS IN FRONT OF THE COMPUTER SCREEN WHILE WE BECOME PRETTY AND-” Yeojin paused, eyes widening when she heard the sound of a door being opened. “I’m out of here!”

“It is fun,” said Yerim, nodding. “It looks like we might need some more players if we wanna beat Eunwoo.” She stepped back momentarily, right as Hyejoo stepped out in pyjamas, reading glasses on and a broom in her hand. Yerim watched her disappear down the stairs, screaming, before turning back to Heejin and Hyunjin. “If you get your gym clothes ready, we can leave immediately.”

Heejin looked down at where Hyejoo had disappeared in worry. “She had a broom…?”

“Yeojin likes climbing trees,” answered Yerim, cryptically. “By the time you guys are done one of them will have given up. Is anyone else home who might wanna join us?”

Hyunjin opened the door behind her. “Hey, Chaewon do you wanna-”

“NO!”

“She says no,” reported Hyunjin dutifully. 

Heejin and Yerim laughed, then the former turned curios again. “Oh, and have you guys ever won before?”

“Yeah!” 

* * *

Chaewon wouldn’t pretend to be some sort of saint; far from it, actually.

However, she could contend that, among the people who lived in the complex, she was probably one of the quietest, and less loud. Already her voice wasn’t that heavy; that coupled with the fact that her neighbours seemed unable to communicate at a normal volume, meant that she was automatically the quietest.

She however had gotten used to the noise in the few weeks she had been living there. So when she stopped writing for a moment, noticing how quiet the whole place had gotten, she was more than a little disconcerted.

No Hyunjin and Heejin arguing, no Yeojin screaming, no Yerim laughing, no Jinsoul and Sooyoung squabbling… it was peace in heaven.

After a few more seconds of unnatural silence, she finally opened the main door of the house, ready to go downstairs and see if perhaps Haseul and/or Vivi were home. Quiet was nice, but now Chaewon had conditioned herself to work with people around her, and was struggling to string one sentence to-

She paused in her tracks, staring at the door of 6C. Door that was, right then, opened.

While it was quite normal for the other residents to drop by unannounced, the only people who would have a key to Sooyoung’s place were Jinsoul and Haseul. Not even Yeojin, Yerim and Vivi had a key to the place.

That, coupled with the fact that Sooyoung was at work (she had spent the day before at dinner complaining about the fact that she had a full day shift that day) and Hyejoo was out at that sports thing with Yeojin, Yerim, Heejin and Hyunjin didn’t bode well.

Jinsoul was still working and Haseul wouldn’t be done for another few hours at the very least.

_ Maybe Hyejoo just left the door open when she left _ , she tried to reason with herself. _Yeah, it doesn’t automatically mean someone is robbing them and_ -

The sound someone turning the sink on made her freeze in her stance. Yeah. No way there was no one in the room. She couldn’t see anyone inside, except for a phone light shining on the sink and why wouldn’t the person inside turn the lights on, if they weren’t a thief?

In as much quiet as she could, Chaewon stepped back inside her apartment grabbing the first weapon she could spot in the room. The serious and less impulsive part of her brain was telling her to call the cops, but Chaewon was on a mission.

Sooyoung had always been so _nice_ to her and everyone in 6A: there was no way she was going to wait for some police officers who would show up late, if at all, and make her lose everything. 

_ Okay _ . She took a deep breath then stepped inside, screaming as she made for the criminal with the phone torch in her hand. The criminal screamed back shining the light in Chaewon’s face, blinding the girl momentarily. 

_ Sight was overrated anyway, _ decided the blonde, immediately swinging her weapon - the big frying pan Heejin used to make samgyeopsal - at the light source. She got a couple of hits in - relishing in the pained screams of the invader - before a chair was thrown at her, the back painfully hitting her chest.

“Aw!” she cried out, bending over on the floor.

Then the lights turned on and Chaewon closed her eyes automatically.

“If you leave now,” she said, not opening her eyes, “I won’t have seen your face and won’t be able to id you to the police. You don’t even have to kill me, you can just go and -”

“Chaewon?”

_ Uh-oh.  _ Having a criminal recognize you was never a good thing and- 

_ wait. _

Chaewon finally opened her eyes, staring at an annoyed and bemused Hyejoo before her. “Hyejoo?”

The younger girl arched an eyebrow, finally letting go of the chair she had used to hit the blonde with. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Weren’t you supposed to be playing with the other girls?” asked Chaewon instead, now confused.

Hyejoo narrowed her eyes at her. “I decided not to go in the end. That doesn’t explain why you are in my house, assaulting me with a…” she frowned, “a frying pan and threatening to take me to the police.”

“Actually, I was saying I wouldn’t take you to the police,”

At Hyejoo’s unimpressed look, Chaewon cringed. “Fine. I though someone broke into your house and I was trying to protect your assetts?”

The black haired girl did not look any more impressed. “But why?”

Chaewon shrugged, finally standing up. “Well, you, Yeojin and Yerim were supposed to be out. Sooyoung is at work all day, and Jinsoul and Haseul, the only ones with spare keys, are also at work all day. It was an honest mistake!”

“Shouldn’t I be worried by how much you seem to know about the habits of everyone in the house?” wondered Hyejoo, managing to look at the older girl even more suspicious than before.

Chaewon snorted. “I’m observant,” then it was her turn frowning. “Then why the door open and you walking around in complete darkness? Even the curtains are drawn!”

Now it was Hyejoo’s turn to look sheepish. “I was… doing stuff?”

“Were you?” drawled Chaewon, now smirking.

Hyejoo blushed, rolling her eyes. “Fine. I was playing League of Legends. Make fun of me, go ahead.”

She almost missed Chaewon’s eyes lighting up in excitement. “ _Dude!_ I love league of legends? What’s your user ID?”

The black haired girl also smiled. “Really? I’m Olivia Hye on there.”

“No way,” Chaewon’s mouth was opened wide. “I’m Gowon?”

Hyejoo’s expression went from excited to shocked to surprise back to excited. “ _You_ are Gowon The Powerful? The absolute best gamer on the interface?”

The blonde smiled a little. “Well, I wouldn’t say the _best,_ but you know…” she beamed. “I won’t stop you from calling me that.”

Hyejoo sat down. “You are like… you helped me so much.”

“Does that make Yerim…”

“Choerry, yeah,” agreed Hyejoo, still shaking her head. “Wow. You are Gowon. You are…”

“Shorter than you thought?” completed Chaewon, amused. 

“No!” spluttered Hyejoo, flustered. At Chaewon’s smile though, she sighed. “Fine, yeah I did. But you have 5’10 attitude, it’s not my fault!”

* * *

“We have freed a monster,” decided Yerim, watching in absolute shock as Hyunjin easily dropped another girl on the mattress.

From the moment they had stepped into the crowded gym, it was like Hyunjin was ready to destroy the place. She was good at _everything_. 

Basketball? She had, alone, scored four times the points the rest of the three girls had scored together.

Relay Race? Had gone last and turned the entire race around, making everyone else eat dust.

Volleyball? At one point the other teams were running _away_ from the ball instead of towards it.

It was the first time Yeojin and Yerim’s team got so many trophies at games that weren’t related to computers.

Yeojin slurped on her lollipop. “Hyejoo is gonna eat her heart out,” she finalised, feeling particularly pleased with herself. “We never win with her around,”

Heejin turned to face her, as Hyunjin came to re-join the other girls. “I thought you said you’ve won before.”

“Technically, we did win…” started Yerim blushing slightly.

Hyunjin made the connection scarily fast. “The last time you won was because the other team forfeited!?” she grabbed Heejin’s towel, ignoring the girl complaining next to her.

Yerim pouted. “A win is a win. We were very small and there was only three of us, you can see the kind of stress we were under.”

“And it wasn’t forfeit,” pointed out Yeojin. “The girls were scared of Hyejoo. Honestly, I don’t see how anyone could be scared of her.”

Heejin turned to her, an eyebrow arched. “Weren’t you _just_ screaming and begging her for forgiveness because she was trying to force you out of the tree by hitting the branches with a broom?”

“I don’t know, suddenly I don’t recall.”

Yerim laughed. “But yeah, other than the few times we manage to join the gaming and computer matches, we never actually won. Yeojin blames Hyejoo, of course.”

The younger girl became irritated immediately. “It was just a 300 metres run. I couldn’t do it cause I was doing something else, you hurt your leg and she couldn’t even _try_ to run the entire track?!”

Hyunjin was confused. “Then why were you trying to force her to come?”

“I’d rather have her on the team and lose than have her at home having fun while we lose. We lose as a team, goddammit.”

“Ever thought about… trying to win? You know, actively participate with the goal of winning?”

Yeojin stared at her for a few seconds. Then she turned to Yerim. “I’m scared of her.”

“What Hyunjin is trying to say,” said Heejin, glaring. “Is that maybe now with us we can actually win something _and_ have fun.”

“This is slander, I’ve never said those words.” she turned to Yeojin, giving her crazy eyes. “ _Fear_ me.”

“Oh,” Yerim looked interested instead of scared. “We have finally encountered the Yeojin-tamer! Haseul is going to kidnap you.”

“Hey girls!” called another voice, and all four of them turned to face the newcomer. 

Both Yerim and Yeojin lit up, immediately standing up to give the three girls a hug. “Oh my god, I thought you weren’t coming this year?”

“And miss a chance to embarrass you girls again?” commented one of the three girls with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail on top of her head. “Not a chance.”

Yeojin smirked. “So far, we have 5 wins, so we are doing pretty well for ourselves.”

The blonde whistled. “Atta girl! We have four ourselves, and planning on getting many more,” she then noticed Heejin and Hyunjin. “I see you dumped Hyejoo this year?”

“She didn’t want to come,” explained Yerim, before motioning to the other two girls. “This are Heejin and Hyunjin, our new team members and neighbours. They moved in last month.”

The blonde took Hyunjin’s hand in hers. “Yeah, I saw you flipping Chaeryoung’s sister just now. I’m Yuna.”

“And I’m Chaeryoung,” said the brown haired girl next to her. “I hope you didn’t complete break Chaeyon. My sister.” she added, at Hyunjin’s confused expression.

The third girl finally took their hands, smiling at them. “I’m Ryujin, nice to meet you girls. Are one Heejin and Hyunjin equivalent to one Hyejoo?”

Heejin laughed, while Hyunjin smirked. “Let’s make a play to determinate it, why don’t we?”

“Competitive,” whisteled Ryujin, laughing too. “I like it. Me and the girls’ next game is ping pong. Let’s see if we can ask to play against each other.”

Hyunjin smiled, nodding immediately, while Heejin frowned. “Didn’t you play ping pong already?”

“The solo version,” explained Hyunjin, grabbing her hand to help her up. “This is the couple game. While Yeojin and Yerim go play UBG, we can do this.”

Yeojin okayed it, immediately dragging Yerim and Yuna towards the computer room while Heejin looked nervous.

“Wait! I never played ping pong in my life.”

“What?”

Heejin blushed a little. “Look, I’m good at baseball, and tennis because I played when I was younger. I could even do a little fencing if I was asked to.” She shrugged, “but I’ve never touched a ping pong racket in my life.”

Hyunjin groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me that before I agreed to this match?”

The other immediately glared, “You didn’t exactly give me a chance, now did you?! You answered before - oh, hey Ryujin.”

Ryujin sighed. “We won’t get to play against you guys, cause we are in the second group. Only way we could, is if you win all your matches and we win all of ours.”

“That’ll never happen-” 

“Then see you at the top,” decided Hyunjin, earning a shocked glare from Heejin. “That is if you make it, of course.”

“Oh _we_ will make it,” she smirked. “Worry about your team, Hyunjin.”

“And you about yours, Ryujin.” Once the other girl had laughed and headed back to Chaeryoung, Hyunjin turned her attention to Heejin. “All you have to do is hit the ball and make it bounce on the other side. If you’re unsure, just get out of my way.”

Heejin narrowed her eyes at her. “Do you have a crush or something?”

Hyunjin snorted. “Why, are you jealous?”

“Oh you wish, Kim. You wish.”

“All I wish is for you to not make me lose, Jeon.”

\+ 

No matter how much Heejin was trying to make sure she wasn’t ruining Hyunjin’s play, even she could admit to herself that she was terrible.

For how much similar it was to badminton and tennis, the game was _really_ difficult. Every time she tried to hit the ball, she ended up hitting the table or hitting herself. It was pathetic to the point that, if they just left her and the ball on the table, she’d probably manage to lose somehow. 

_ Mortifying _ .

Something that her teammate couldn’t help but remind her every time she made a mistake. 

“Heejin, oh my god? How are you _so bad_ at this?”

“No, leave the ball, leave it, _fuck_!”

“Mine, mine, I said _mine!_ ”

“ _JEON HEEJIN!_ ”

Heejin did feel bad. So the moment the referee announced the half term she put down the ping pong racket on the table, looking down at her feet. “Look, I’m sorry. I told you I am not good at this.”

Hyunjin sighed. “Yeah, I know. At least we aren’t losing that badly.”

“That’s just because you make hits every time you touch the ball, while I’m cursed to ruin every gameplay.” she looked back up at Hyunjin. “So you can play the game alone now. That way I’m not in the middle.”

The other girl frowned. “Don’t be absurd. This is a team game.”

“As long as I stand not too far from you and I have the racket in my hand, it doesn’t matter if I even touch the ball or I don’t right?”

“Yeah, but still…” Hyunjin’s face seemed slightly pinched. “Just because I like winning doesn’t mean I’m gonna kick you out from the team because you suck. It’s just a game, at the end of the day.”

“But-”

“Look, Heejin, even though earlier I was mocking Yeojin, she is right. It’s funnier to lose as a team than win alone, yadda yadda,” she shrugged. “So, just stay.”

_ Oh. _

That was actually… nice. 

She made to answer, when Ryujin appeared, an arched eyebrow. She met Heejin’s pout, and her face softened immediately. “You have never played before have you?”

Heejin’s pout grew. “Is it that noticeable?”

“I mean… You aren’t even standing right,” said the younger girl, chuckling. “Here let me show you.”

Ryujin stood behind her, grabbing the racket with her right hand and putting in Heejin’s. “You legs need to be opened wider,” she started, putting her legs at either side of Heejin’s, waiting until the older girl imitated her movements. “Okay, good. This arm,” she grabbed her left arm, stretching it a little and pulling downwards. “needs to help you stay stable when you hit the ball.” She let go of the arm once it was in place, instead pulling Heejin’s ponytail behind her, “Make sure none of the hair can get in your eyes. This game is quick arm and eye coordination, so you need to be able to follow the game with your eyes. And this arm, your playable arm,” she put her right hand around Heejin’s wrist, “Long hits with extended arm and shorter ones with contracted hand. If they serve if hard, hit short, it’ll be harder to catch. And if-”

“Break’s over!” announced Hyunjin abruptly, putting down the bottle of water she was sipping. “Are you giving your enemy some tricks so that you know what she will be doing when we are against you?”

“I’d never!” said Ryujin, but she was smiling. “Nah, just giving her a small crash course. Hopefully enough that me and you can get our rackets on after the game. Although…”

The referee blew his whistle again, and Hyunjin’s turned her attention back on the game and Heejin.

Despite her complaints about sabotage and what not, Hyunjin couldn’t _not_ notice that somehow, in those few minutes, Heejin had gotten a little better. Not enough that she managed to complete turn the game upside down, but enough that they managed to lose it with just one point of difference.

Hyunjin would take that.

However, by the time they were done with their match, Ryujin wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“I wanted to thank her,” commented Heejin, looking around for the familiar smile.

Hyunjin shrugged, but she was disappointed as well. At the very least she had wanted to see Ryujin’s game and see how good she was at it.

When they returned to where they were relaxing earlier, they found Yerim and Yeojin there, holding a trophy in their hands. 

“Another forfeit?” teased Hyunjin, making Yeojin glare at her. 

“Ah ah ah. You are _so_ funny, Kim Hyunjin.”

“I try my best.”

Yeojin rolled her eyes, turning her attention to Heejin instead. “Yerim is actually more amazing than I ever thought. All I had to do was drive the car but she killed everyone in that room and then some. She’s insane!”

Yerim laughed, but she looked proud. “Just cause Hyejoo’s the best doesn’t mean I’m not really good too,” she declared, with a smile. She nodded at their empty hands. “You guys lost?”

Before Hyunjin could speak, Heejin rushed to explain. “I’m not that good at ping pong.”

“Or at all,” added Hyunjin, snorting when Heejin hit her arm. “But it’s okay, it was fun to just play.”

Yeojin narrowed her eyes. “Who are you and what have you done with Kim Hyunjin?”

“By the way,” commented Yerim, pulling out her phone from her pocket. “Ryujin told me to give you two her number. Chaeryoung felt sick and they all left earlier.”

“That’s terrible!” said Heejin, even as she noted down the number.

“Sure, but you know what this means?”

Hyunjin lit up immediately. “We have the most trophies?!”

“Hell yeah we do!”

“Life is good.”

Yerim frowned. “Chaeryoung is sick.”

“Rip to Chaeryoung, but my life is good.”

“She’s not _dead!”_

“Sometimes I can still hear her voice.”


	6. week six: the one with the new BFF

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 25/11**
> 
> Get a coffee, complain about your siblings and gossip about your neighbours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idc if yall see some relationship between hyewon or yoerry or hyoerry or whatever, but im not writing any explicit romantic or sexual subplot for yeojin, yerim or hyejoo. they are not minors in this story, but for now i do not feel comfortable writing anything about them of the sort.

By the time Jinsoul made it to _Namusairo,_ best known as the _best_ coffee shop in Seoul, both Sooyoung and Haseul were already sitting down at the table, the short haired girl typing a text on her phone and Sooyoung looking through the menu columns.

She almost laughed at how eerily similar to them in high school the scene was: Jinsoul always arriving _fashionably_ late wherever they were supposed to meet as a form of memorable signature; Haseul always with her head in a book or laptop or phone, always looking for something usually as random as it was useless; and Sooyoung, with her imagine of cool/chic/beautiful/bored super popular girl, coveted and surrounded by her classmates.

They weren’t easily the most ‘normal’ group of friends at any time, but it made sense to them. They worked despite what anyone else thought, and that was all that mattered.

Sooyoung glared at her when she appeared, crossing her arms around her chest. “Why are you late, this time?”

Not that they weren’t unable to drive each other up the wall, if they tried hard enough.

“Hey to you too, Sooya,” she greeted instead, dropping her coat on the chair and putting her head on the table. “I am so exhausted,”

Haseul snorted, although she immediately put a hand on her head, caressing it gently. “What’s up, Soul?”

“Seul, you need to save me,” immediately complained the blonde, giving her the best puppy eyes she could muster. “I am slowly losing my will to live.”

“You still had one?” wondered Sooyoung, earning a chuckle from Haseul and a small smirk from Jinsoul.

Then the blonde turned her head to her, eyes going bigger. “Between yesterday’s parent evening and Yerim I swear I’m about to lose all of my hair.”

At that the other two girls frowned. Among the brat trio (Yeojin, Yerim and Hyejoo), Yerim was known to be the calm voice of reason. If you had to compare them to the powerpuff girls, Yerim was easily Blossom. Kept the other two from murdering anyone or killing themselves accidentally. It wasn’t an easy feat.

Jinsoul finally lifted her head, reading the question in their eyes. “Yes, Yerim.” she shook her head. “At first I thought, no I’m probably the one in the wrong, maybe I did something to make her react that way, but…”

“Hold on,” Sooyoung stopped her, smiling at the waitress who had just approached the table. “One iced macchiato and bulgogi sandwich for me. Seul?”

“Uhm,” Haseul took a quick look at the menu before smiling at the waitress, “I’ll get a warm latte please, with soya milk. And a large choco brownie bing su as well.”

“Carbonara tteok bokki and green tea for me, thanks.” Finished Jinsoul, smiling gratefully at the woman until she walked away.

Then Sooyoung turned her attention back to her. “Okay. From the beginning, now.”

Jinsoul sighed. “Okay, so the other day, me and Yerim got into a huge fight. You guys know how well me and Yerim get along, so I was really shocked that she would get so mad over something so little, you know?

It was the day after I went to Yoojung’s birthday party with Hobi. I gave her money the day before to get some food, so she was going to be all right. And it’s not like I cook much when I’m home, usually I order us something or rarely, she cooks.

Yet, when I got home, I noticed that she had cooked for herself even though I had given her plently enough that she could have gone to nay large scale restaurant and ordered herself a meal. So, the next day, I jokingly asked her for the money back since she hadn’t spent it,”

“Oh!” interrupted her Sooyoung shaking her head.

“What?”

“Never ask for money back from a teenager,” said Haseul, knowingly. “Been there, done that, miraculously survived.”

“But that’s not even it,” said Jinsoul, frustrated. “She gave me the money back.”

That had the two girls’ attention back on her, surprise on both their faces.

Jinsoul continued. “Not only she gave me the money back: she gave me even more money, to ‘pay for her staying with me’,”

“What the fuck.”

“Exactly! I never - _never -_ once implied that she was any sort of guest or whatever in my home. Honestly, I consider her more of a sister than a cousin, we are always together, I help her go through lines and she always tries to take care of me despite me being older than her. We are blood, and she started working for the first time a month ago on saturdays and sunday, even though I told her not to. 

So when she said she wanted to pay me, I immediately said no. And she _lost her shit._ She was shouting at me and at one point she even started crying, and would not let me come close to console her or anything. I have no idea what I have done wrong or what she thinks she did wrong or what the hell was going on at that point.”

“How much money could she have made in such a little time to try and pay you back?” wondered Haseul shaking her head perplexed.

Jinsoul stayed silent for a couple of seconds, before shaking her head. “900900.00, while working minimum wage. It makes no sense, to me, how she saved that much money, but I can’t even ask her,” she shook her head. “She took the shopping list and the money I left on the counter today before leaving with Yeojin and Hyejoo, but I’m gonna have to address this, won’t I?” she groaned. “I don’t know how to work with problem children, _I_ am the problem child.”

“Our problem child, yes you are,” said Sooyoung, but there was a little bit of worry in her expression.

That behaviour was not like Yerim. If it was Hyejoo, honestly Sooyoung wouldn’t even ask. She knew her sister well enough to know that she had plenty of marketable skills and was free enough to simply do one of those part time jobs and make money. 

And with Yeojin, no matter how much she acted up, she trusted her sister completely. If she was to find a job or something like that, she would speak to Haseul about it first, would never make the decision without speaking to her. It wasn’t spoiled behaviour: it was just ‘ _it’s-you-and-me-till-the-end-of-the-line_ ’ behaviour. 

“Does she have some trouble at school?” wondered Haseul, staring at her confused.

Jinsoul shook her head. “Not that she has shared with me.” She looked up, smiling when the waiter presented them with their orders. “Oh, thank you so much.”

“Yeah, thank you.”

“Thanks!”

Haseul only spoke again a full minute later, after all of them had a sip of their drinks. “You’re going to have to talk to her again, you know. Without all the ‘oh my god, I’m a child myself, I can’t be taken seriously’ crap.” Sooyoung winced at her choice of words, and Haseul softened her tone. “At the end of the day, even though she’s not a child anymore, she is there under your care. _You_ have to look after her. And you can’t do that without talking.”

Jinsoul just sighe, but yeah. Haseul was right.

* * *

“Ugh,” complained Yeojin, eyes moving across her phone screen and mouth turned downwards. 

Yerim stopped mid ice cream lick, looking at her with an arched eyebrow. “What’s wrong now?”

The younger girl shrugged, pocketing her phone. “Haseul told me to order something for dinner. It’s the second time this week!” she pouted, turning her attention back on the ice cream. “It’s annoying. She sent me out to do shopping for the week but she won’t even be home to cook any of it.”

“Relax, maybe she’s on a date with Vivi or something,” Yerim shrugged. “They have to catch up, right?”

When Yeojin didn’t look any happier at the situation, Yerim frowned. “You are happy for them… right?”

Yeojin rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m happy for them. My sister has been pining for her for as long as I can remember. It’s not that,”

The purple haired girl finally put her whole attention on Yeojin, a slight frown on her face. “Then what is it?”

“Okay, I’m here!” called out a voice before Yeojin could answer, and both girls turned in direction of the voice, a scowl on their face.

A scowl that turned in slight perplexion when they noticed the _people_ coming towards them.

Hyejoo stopped in front of them, wiping the raindrops away from her forehead. “Sorry I’m late, I really didn’t want to come.”

Yeojin was staring at the blonde next to her though, a slightly glum look on her face. “Chaewon, right? How…?” she didn’t finish the sentence, looking between the two girls expectantly.

Chaewon smiled apologetically. “Well, we were in the middle of a match when she realised she was supposed to be meeting you soon at the mall; turns out I also needed some stuff and we thought why not come together, after all,”

Yeojin nodded slowly a strange smile plastered on her face. “ _Why_ not. Alright then, let’s go,”

“Wait, you guys have ice cream,” pouted Hyejoo, staring hungrily at the matching cones in their hands. “I want it too.”

“Should have thought about it before showing up late,” reprimanded her Yerim, hiding a smile. “Losers weepers, yadda yadda.”

Chaewon gave Hyejoo a mock glare. “See, if we had taken the uber like _I_ suggested…”

“Fine, next time we’ll listen to you,” laughed Hyejoo, walking after Yerim and Yeojin.

_ Next time?  _

Yeojin kept staring ahead as she walked.

+

“Speaking of the brat trio being particularly difficult lately,” started Haseul, once all of the girls had started on their meals. “Yeojin has me a little worried.”

“Now, that sounds way more normal,” joked Sooyoung, relieved when Jinsoul smiled at the joke.

Haseul rolled her eyes. “I mean… obviously this Vivi thing might be a little weird for her…”

“Really?” Jinsoul arched an eyebrow. “She’s been on you guys’ team since you started crushing on Vivi. She acts like Vivi is her step mom/sister all the time, and even you said she looked glad when she walked in on the two of you kissing the other week.”

Haseul sighed. “Right? Everything made it seem like she was 100% okay with the whole thing, and that’s one of the reasons I didn’t feel terrible about becoming Vivi’s girlfriend.

But the other day, it was just me and her at home, and we were eating dinner and I jokingly told her that maybe me and Vivi should move in together. When she asked me what I meant, I told her that now I could invest on a new bed and share rooms with Vivi.”

“Atta girl!” wolf whistled Sooyoung, Jinsoul catcalling next to her. Haseul groaned, hiding her face in her hands.

“Everyone is staring at us, can you stop?!”

“Fine, fine…”

Once her friends had calmed down, she started talking again. “But anyway, Yeojin seemed immediately upset when I said this. She asked me where _she_ would sleep, and when I said her and Vivi would exchange room she just went really quiet.” She chewed on her lip, thoughtfully. “She didn’t say _anything_ after that, nor did she explode in anger, but I don’t know… she was acting a little different.”

“Was she okay before the dinner?”

Haseul shrugged. “I honestly can’t say. I know last week her, Yerim, Hyejoo, Heejin and Hyunjin went to that sports thing,”

“Actually Hyejoo didn’t go,” corrected her Sooyoung. “She was chilling with Chaewon when I got home.”

Jinsoul frowned. “Did something happen?”

“Nah, I doubt it. Hyejoo found out that Chaewon is one of her internet gamer friends. so she’s excited about that. Nothing other than that happened.”

“Then I have no idea what’s wrong with her,” said Haseul shaking her head. “I tried to speak about it yesterday and she was annoyed about it, and when I mentioned it this morning she just laughed and said it was nothing to worry about. She’s really good at hiding how she feels though, and I don’t know,”

Both the other girls stayed quiet for a second, then Sooyoung rolled her eyes. “Fuck it. Shaved ice cream for three. Large sizes?”

“Add some azuki beans on mine. I wanna eat my worries away,” decided Haseul, while Jinsoul nodded.

“Amen sister, I’ll get a rainbow ice with mochi on top.”

+

“I need detergent,” announced Hyejoo after a few seconds of them standing in front of the food aisle. “Can we hurry up?”

“I got my fruit,” pointed out Yeojin, pointing at Yerim. “She’s the one seeming to have a crisis over strawberries.”

Yerim glared at her friends. “I’m just trying to pick a cheaper one, for once. It’s crazy how much Jinsoul spends on some of this stuff.”

“It’s five won difference,” pointed out Hyejoo, immediately closing her mouth when Yerim glared at her. “Ehi, don’t look at me: I’m just reading the tags.”

“How about we go get the detergent while she picks the fruit?” asked Chaewon finally, like it was the most reasonable question ever. 

Yeojin turned at her, annoyed. “That’s not how it works.”

Chaewon shrugged, “Why not? That way, by the time she is done, Hyejoo will also be done.”

The younger girl looked personally offended at Chaewon’s technically unflawed logic. She gave her a strained smile. “Then we might as well come separately if everyone is just going off to get their own stuff, uhm?”

The blonde looked surprised at Yeojin’s tone, and even Yerim and Hyejoo looked at the younger in worry.

“Now Yeojin,” started Hyejoo, frowning at her. “She was just giving her opinion. And it’s not like she’s wrong. We could do as she says.”

Yeojin’s smile was gone now, replaced by a strange scowl. “But that’s how we always do this. Why change it now?”

“If something doesn’t work, we change it,” Yerim kept making eyes at Hyejoo, but the black haired girl didn’t seem to notice her efforts. “It’s not a _law_.”

“So now our system is broken? Just because Chaewon said so?”

Chaewon looked worried between the two girls. “Hey, I don’t want to-”

“Don’t worry,” interrupted Hyejoo, eyes not leaving Yeojin. “It’s not your fault. Yeojin, what the fuck is your problem?”

The smaller girl curled her hands into fist, barely controlling the wobbling of her lips. “I don’t have a problem with her. I have a problem with you suddenly deciding that,”

“Yeojin, don’t,” Yerim’s voice finally made it between the two girls, who turned to look at her. The purple haired girl was holding the strawberries and cherries in her basket, a faux smile on her face. “I chose the fruit, so let’s not say things we are going to regret, okay? Let’s just go to the next aisle, does anyone need any meat?”

When no one said anything, Chaewon grabbed her basket, sending a worried look Yerim’s way. “Uhm, I think I need some stuff from the other shop actually. Y’all mind if I meet you on our way back?”

Hyejoo grabbed her wrist before she could even move. “I’ll come with you, since some people want to act childish. I insist,” she added, when the blonde tried to make some excuse as to not. “Lemme just get the detergent and pay for this.”

“Did my words reach any of you?” complained Yerim, but Yeojin didn’t answer, instead picking up her basket, not even looking at Hyejoo and Chaewon getting ready to leave.

“I need some frozen tteokbokki.” 

+

“How is it going with Hyejoo?” asked Jinsoul, once their shaved icecreams had been served.

“Oh, so now that you’re done spilling your guts you want me to give you my own personal tea/drama?” wondered Sooyoung, pretending to be annoyed when the two just laughed. “Nosy.”

“Come on,” pouted Haseul, offering some of her ice. “I have to know I’m not the only girl struggling to raise her own sister.”

Sooyoung accepted the bite. “It’s not like much has actually changed for me since last time we had a chat/complaint session. Hyejoo is still unemployed and not studying, she still has _not_ told mom and dad, and she’s still being way too casual about it. And I am still unsure on how to breach the subject with a 20 years old woman-child.” 

“For a group who preaches so much about how we need to talk to each other, we honestly do very little talking to our siblings, don’t we?” finally said Jinsoul, with a grimace.

“Ugh, can we change subject?” complained Haseul, putting her head on the table. “And by that I don’t mean bombard me with questions about Vivi.”

“Here goes my plan!”

“Oh, let’s talk about the new girls,” said Sooyoung lighting up. “What do we think of them. What do we _truly_ think of them?”

“Is this high school again?” compained Haseul, but she was already sitting up, ready to listen.

Jinsoul hummed. “I had a run in with Jungeun a few weeks ago in the laundry room. I proceded to get a score for how well I sang, then somehow managed to tell her that singing will not get you anywhere.”

“Ouch.”

“Exactly,” huffed the blonde shaking her head. “But she was surprisingly good at accepting my apology. Well, at first she wasn’t, but then she was and it was nice of her. But she still kind of scares me.”

“Jinsoul, she is 2 years younger than you.” pointed out Sooyoung, amused.

“ _I_ know that, but there is just something about her, you know? She is barely ever home when I am, and whenever I hear her is because she is screaming at someone.” Jinsoul pouted. “It’s kind of scary.”

“Nah, to me the scariest is probably Hyunjin.” decided Haseul, shaking her head a little. “She has just the most intense cat eyes and she is so pretty?!”

“She is really pretty,” 

“Right? I’ve been afraid of pretty girls my whole life with the exception of Vivi, she has an intimidating aura.”

Sooyoung glared. “Are you implying that we are not pretty?”

“I watched you guys going from children to pretty girls, I grew immune,” immediately said Haseul.

“Oh you came prepared, well done.”

“You flatterer!”

“But Heejin is sweet, isn’t she?”

Jinsoul nodded, smiling. “She is really cute. Her and Jiwoo are like the sweetest.” she turned to Sooyoung. “Oh god, remember when Jiwoo and Chaewon tried to cook?!”

“Don’t be mean,” tried Sooyoung, but the laughter was already spilling from her mouth. “That was a nice uhm… thought.”

“They nearly set the complex on _fire_!”

“You girls are terrible, that’s why Chaewon and Hyejoo are going to become friends and ruin your life,” commented Haseul, even though she was smiling still.

“Don’t even joke about that!”

* * *

Yeojin wasn’t quite sure when Vivi got home. 

She was in her bed you know, crying softly into her pillow, when suddenly the older girl was patting her hair, whispering gentle words to her.

Instead of comforting her, that just made her cry harder, until she was sure she had ruined Vivi’s blouse with snot and tears.

“Jjinjjin, what’s wrong?” asked her the pink haired girls, once the sobs had started to stifle down, her hand not stopping the motions on her head.

Yeojin was usually very good at keeping stuff from people. When her parents died, she had continued to go school for months, not acting out or even letting one hair out of space. The only reason they found out was that Haseul came to her parent evening instead of an actual parent.

Still, when Vivi asked her, she couldn’t stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. “I’m just… I’m a terrible person,” she cried, hiding her face in her hands.

Vivi frowned a little. “You are not a terrible person. You are an amazing person, a good friend and the best sister anyone could ask for.”

“I’m not, though,” interrupted her Yeojin. “First with Haseul and then with Hyejoo… I’m like a spoiled bitch-”

“Yeojin, you’re not.” Vivi’s voice left no room for disagreement, so Yeojin could only sniffle. “Now explain to me what has you so upset.”

The younger girl clutched a piece of her shirt in her fist. “You will hate me.”

“I could never.”

It took the younger a few more seconds to speak, but she did. 

“Uhm… it’s just. Everything is changing. Like Haseul changed her hair, and it’s nice and I’m okay with it, but then you and her are dating _dating_ which is also fine, you love each other, and now we have new friends living her, and I don’t hate it, they are nice people, but now Hyejoo has a new friend and I’m okay with that too but…” she shook her head. “What if I’m left alone?”

Vivi wasn’t sure she understood how Yeojin went from Haseul changing her hair to being left alone, but she was willing to listen. “You’re not alone, Yeojinnie…”

“No,” Yeojin lifted her head up, and Vivi’s heart almost hurt at how red her eyes were, still filled with unshed tears. “Everyone is moving on. And I’m happy for you, I really am. But you and Haseul are together now, Sooyoung has a job and so does Jinsoul, Heejin and Hyunjin have some weird sort of friendship, Jiwoo and Jungeun I barely know, Yerim has a job now so I don’t see her as often and Hyejoo, the person I spent most of my time with, now has Chaewon as a new best friend.”

Vivi put her hands on Yeojin’s cheek, staring at the younger straight in the eye. “Yeojin, listen to me. That’s not people leaving you behind, that’s just life getting in the way. But that’s okay! How do you think Jinsoul, Haseul and Sooyoung managed to stay friends despite all of them having full time jobs and fully grown siblings and cousins around?” she gave her a gentle smile. “You will _never_ be left alone, and I will make sure that you are never left alone. Even if for whatever reason people start to leave, me and Haseul will never leave you.”

“What if you get married and get a new fantastic job in LA or something?”

The older girl smiled wider, placing a gentle kiss on Yeojin’s cheek. “Then we will move there only after making sure there is enough room in our new place for our tiny precious Yeojin. Okay?”

Yeojin finally nodded, a little shy about her sudden outburst all of a sudden. “Uh, and Vivi when Haseul comes home,”

“It’s our little secret,” promised the older girl immediately. She stood up from the bed, putting her hand out. “Come on wash your face so that you can come help me with dinner: you have an eyelash stuck on your left cheek.”

* * *

When Jinsoul got home later that night, the lights of the apartment were still on. She quickly waved Sooyoung goodbye before stepping inside the apartment, a little tense about what might expect her inside.

“Yerim?” she called out, dropping her coat on the floor.

“Oh, you’re home!”

The purple haired girl appeared from the living room, a smile on her face. “How was your day out gossiping with the bffs?” she asked her, putting Jinsoul’s coat on the coat hanger.

The blonde shrugged, walking towards the kitchen. “How was shopping today?”

“Terrible,” the other said, jumping on the kitchen counter. “Hyejoo and Yeojin kind of got into an argument, so the whole day was ruined.”

“Oh no. Are they okay now?”

“No idea. Chaewon and Hyejoo went home together, and Yeojin didn’t really talk to me on the way home,” explained Yerim. “There is some left overs in the fridge?”

At that Jinsoul paused. “You cooked?”

“Mhh. Your change is on the table, by the way.”

The blonde took a deep breathe. _Don’t lose your shit, simply talk to her._ “Yerim, you know the change is yours anyway. You could have bought yourself dinner instead of coming home and having to cook. I ate out already.”

“I know, but it’s cheaper and nicer this way, don’t you think?”

At those words Jinsoul stared at the younger girl, trying to understand where she was going with that. “Uhm, sure. But still, the money is yours, do what you want with it.”

Yerim’s expression changed slightly at this. “I work, Jinsoul. You don’t have to give me pocket money and stuff anymore.”

“I never _had_ to,” pointed out the blonde, trying to keep her frown at bay. “I just chose to. Same way I’m choosing to give it to you, now.”

“I don’t accept, then.”

_ That _ did take Jinsoul out of her loop for a second. Yerim was an opinionated young girl, sure, always had been: but Jinsoul was pretty sure this was the first time the girl had outright refused her anything.

“What?”

The younger girl shrugged, avoiding Jinsoul’s eyes. “I don’t need you to spend this much money on me, especially since I’m not a child and I can do stuff to help with money and stuff,”

_ Oh. _

_ Oh! _

Jinsoul felt so stupid for not connecting the dots immediately. Yerim starting a new job so suddenly, and buying cheaper, refusing Jinsoul’s money… it had all started after one particular event.

She kept her expression as blank as possible, despite the slight pity and embarrassment building in her chest. “Yerim, did you go through my finance book?”

It had been a simple oversight, honestly, that caused her to forget the book on the kitchen counter. She had finished making calculations for the month after paying some of the bills, and fell asleep on the couch. Yerim had woken her up the next day, but Jinsoul had not thought for an instant that the girl might have gone through it.

The silence was answer enough.

Jinsoul sighed. “Yerim, it’s fine. The number might look like a lot, but I’m doing okay and-”

“You are paying for my university course yourself,” interrupted her the younger girl, hands curled in fists at her sides. “You said that my mom and my dad signed for the bursary and sent it.”

“I didn’t want you to worry-”

“I called them a few weeks ago,” she continued, not listening. “And they weren’t even aware that you were paying out of your own pocket. Apparently you got annoyed about sending the applications to my mom and step dad, and my dad and step mom, because it kept being rejected, so you said it didn’t matter.”

“The course was perfect for you, and you liked it.” said Jinsoul, refusing to yeld.

“You could have told me!” exploded Yerim, a miserable expression on her face. “Jesus, Jinsoul. You are literally a teacher, you guys are not that well paid. And yet you still pay for my whole course, give me allowances, buy expensive fruit just because I asked once and,” she swallowed, tears in her eyes. “Let me help you. I don’t deserve all of this-”

“Don’t ever say that again.” Jinsoul was now standing up, facing Yerim. Her expression was a litte cold, and suddenly Yerim was reminded of all the people that for one reason or another always said that her cousin was terrifying. 

“I am not joking, Yerim, drop it. There is a reason I didn’t tell you, and there is a reason I did all of this. Because _you_ deserve it, and I _can_ afford it. Have you seen me complain about not making enough money at any given time?” when the younger girl didn’t answer, Jinsoul stepped closer to her. “Yerim?”

“No.”

“Exactly. That’s because it’s not impossible, that’s because I can do it. I don’t want to hear another word of this, and if this is why you took that job, you can quit.”

Yerim sniffled a little. “But, Jinsoul-”

The blonde’s expression became softer. “Rim, when I was your age, I wanted to be a singer, more than anything else in the world. But my parents didn’t have the money, and I didn’t have the means or anything else. So I gave up on my old dream and followed a new dream.” She gave her a lopsided smile. “At the time, it really hurt me. Now, I’m okay.

But you are my cousin, and I love you. I am not going to have you find another dream because your parents can’t afford it. You are talented and hardworking, all you needed is financing, and goddammit, I will make sure you have all the means I didn’t have.” She took Yerim’s face between her hands. “I love you, Yerim. If I couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t have done it, I wouldn’t even have moved you here with me. Let me do this for you.”

Yerim wanted to fight her on that, tell her it wasn’t worth it, tell her to stop paying.

But that would mean all the money Jinsoul had already wasted on her would go up in flames. And that was just as terrible.

So maybe Jinsoul wouldn’t let her pay rent, or pay for food with her own pocket or whatever. But at the very least, she would still - albeit unknowingly - allow Yerim to take care of her, by making sure she was fed, et cetera.

Siblings relations went both ways.

She put her head on Jinsoul’s shoulder, wiping away her tears. 

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying very hard to showcase that all characters love each other and are complex without them seem bland and 1d. yeojin im having a little of a hard time showing that while she is very dependent on routine and everything staying the same (after all, she lost her parents in a freak accident and haseul was the only constant she had left) without her coming across as whiny. I hope you guys dont think her spoiled, cause she is Not!
> 
> but anyway, is there a particular friendship you guys would like me to talk about? so far ive planned the next three chapters, and i will try to include as many friendship pairings as possible (main couples: viseul, chuuves, 2jin, lipsoul) (main friendships: yeojin/yerim/hyejoo, haseul/jinsoul/sooyoung, chuu/jungeun, chaewon/hyejoo, chaewon/heejin/hyunjin)


	7. week seven: the one with the sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 02/12**
> 
> loona's iconic IT girls trio [Heejin, Kim Lip and Chuu] try to figure out who the fuck is 'Miya'. Also, Heejin definitely ships chuulip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> turns out there is one more sibling I didn't mention eheh  
> spoiler for next week: chuuves is coming.
> 
> nicknames, made up and also looked up online to find out what nicks were mostly used for those names. Trying to be accurate is really a pain sometimes.

“Why is the trash still here?” asked Jungeun the moment she stepped outside of her bedroom. Her hair was still in disarray from the night of sleep and she looked exhausted. Yet her eyes were as keen as a falcon’s.

Heejin and Jiwoo looked up from where they were finishing up breakfast, the first shrugging. “I put out the trash three days ago when you asked. I am not responsible for this.”

Jiwoo mentally counted in her head. “And I did it before you, which means…” she groaned. “Hyunjin’s turn was yesterday.”

“Oh, she’s cunning,” commented Heejin. “Now the choice you have to face is leave it until she comes home, which from her schedule could be anywhere between later today and next week; or throw it.”

Jungeun, ran a hand through her hair, stepping towards the bathroom. “Please, I want it gone by the time I get back,” she managed, closing the door behind her.

“Not it!” 

“Rock, paper, sci-” Jiwoo groaned. “You’re annoying.”

Heejin took a piece of her toast, a smirk on her face. “I’m just smarter, Jiwoo. It’s okay to admit that.”

The red-haired girl ignored her, grabbing the garbage bag from the trashcan. 

It wasn’t even as if taking out the trash was such a big deal for Jiwoo. It was just particularly irritating how good Hyunjin was at avoiding her responsibilities in the apartments. She had a sixth sense when it came down to _not_ doing stuff.

Heejin on the other side was almost too nice for her own good. Even though she tried to appear nonchalant and all ~ too artsy for you ~ she couldn’t help being nice to people who were nice to her.

One…

Two…

Three...

“Wait Jiwoo,” called Heejin right as the older girl started down the stairs. 

Jiwoo hid a smile and turned around, feigning a surprised look. “What, did you forget something?”

Heejin huffed, grabbing one side of the garbage bag. “Come on, let me help,”

“Thank you,” She tried to sound as polite as possible, but the amusement was very much clear in her voice.

Heejin turned to glare at her and Jiwoo laughed. “I’m sorry!”

“You think I’m a pushover, don’t you?” complained the dark-haired girl, a pout forming on her face. “I am just _choosing_ to help you, you know? I don’t have to.”

Jiwoo laughed again. “I’d never call you a pushover,” she paused for dramatic effect. “But that term, attached to your name, has floated around the apartment in the past few weeks.”

The younger girl sighed, looking suddenly frustrated. “Thank so much for ‘fresh starts’ and me becoming a ‘different person in Seoul’.”

“There is nothing wrong with being a push- with being nice,” quickly amended Jiwoo, shrugging. “Nice people are nice to have around.”

Heejin looked at her darkly. “Nice people get pushed around and never treated seriously,”

“But we don’t push _you_ around now, do we?” 

“Hyunjin does.”

Jiwoo rolled her eyes. “Come on, now. Hyunjin pushes everyone around.”

Heejin made to answer when she noticed the figure standing outside the main glass doors. She let go of the trash bag, opening the door both for the woman outside and Jiwoo. 

“Are you waiting to get in?”

The girl looked up at Heejin, the surprise in her eyes concealed by the black sunglasses on her nose. A hood was sitting over her head, hiding her hair completely, and she was wearing a mask over her face.

“Oh, thank you! My sister-” she explained, side stepping Jiwoo and entering the complex.

Jiwoo watched her disappear up the stairs, a frown on her face. “Why do I feel like I know her?”

Heejin nodded, opening up the huge garbage bin outside. “Right? She was all covered up, but her voice was somehow familiar to me too. Definitely a celebrity.”

The older girl threw the bag inside, then glanced at her, curios. “What makes you say that?”

The dark-haired girl looked at her like it was obvious. “It’s still drizzling out, yet she was wearing big sunglasses – probably to hide her eyes; the hoodie she was wearing was a Gucci hoodie, and while that could have been a fake, I’m pretty sure the Chanel purse was legit. Also, did you see the shoes at her feet?”

Jiwoo stared at her, impressed. “Wow. All I noticed was that her voice sounded familiar and that if we both recognised it, it meant we probably heard it on YouTube or something,”

Heejin sniffed, climbing the last flight of stairs after her. “I’m an _artist_. Being observant is part of the job description.” Then she huffed, “Having to slave like a horse in heat every time I leave the apartment, however, is not. How come we don’t have a single elevator around here?”

“Cause life isn’t fair, Jeon Heejin,” told her the other, shaking her head.

“Oh my god! What are you doing here, Miya!” they heard Hyejoo shouting a floor over them, before they heard the tell-tale sound of the door being shut behind her.

Jiwoo turned to Heejin with a lopsided smile. “At least now we know who the famous girl is going to see,”

Heejin chewed on her lower lip, thoughtfully. “I don’t really know any celebrity called Miya, though… do you?”

They opened the apartment door, finding a much more composed Jungeun at the table eating the rest of Jiwoo’s breakfast. 

“Shoo, shoo!” shouted Jiwoo at that, attempting to scare her best friend away like she was some sort of bird. Jungeun ignored her, instead grabbing a new toast and buttering it up.

“Hey, Jungeun. Do you know any celebrity named Miya?” asked her Heejin, hiding a smile when she saw the girl offering the freshly buttered toast to her friend like a peace offering.

“Uh. There is that Japanese girl from GWSN, Girls in the park.”

“Oh yeah,” said Jiwoo, through a mouthful of food. “But she didn’t look like her, though, did she?”

Heejin shook her head. “I’d say she looked a little taller than Miya. Plus she didn’t have that much fringe.”

Jungeun looked between the two of them, slightly confused. “What are you talking about?”

“We saw a girl downstairs, and we opened the door for her. She looked-”

“You shouldn’t do that,” immediately complained Jungeun, looking at Jiwoo reproachfully. “You never let someone you don’t know into the condo. What if she was dangerous?”

“Oh yes, the Gucci and Dior she was wearing looked _so_ dangerous,” Jiwoo rolled her eyes, ignoring Jungeun muttering something (“It’s the principle of things, Chuu!”). “But anyway, the moment she spoke both me and Heejin thought she had a super familiar voice, like we had heard her before.”

Heejin nodded. “Also it was drizzling outside and she was wearing sunglasses anyway, and her head was completely covered with a hood. Also, she went into Hyejoo’s apartment and we heard Hyejoo calling her Miya. Clearly, it’s a famous person who happens to know Hyejoo,” finished the girl, like it was the most reasonable explanation.

_ Sorry to this girl, cause I’m about to hurt her feelings _ , thought Jungeun, before looking at her with an arched eyebrow. “One: did you two ever consider that she just happens to have a very normal voice? A type of voice that is so common that both of you might have heard it?

Two: how do you know she was an actually famous person? And not, you know, someone faking it?” Heejin looked like she didn’t follow. Jungeun shook her head. “Maybe it’s someone with a delusion of grandeur. A D-lister who appeared in a couple of movies and now is convinced that paparazzi and common folk are going to recognise her everywhere.

Three: you don’t even know if Miya is her name.”

At that the younger of the three sat up straighter. “That we do know! We heard Hyejoo calling her that, and no one else walked inside the building while we were throwing out the garbage,”

“I mean,” clarified Jungeun, “What if it’s a nickname or a stage name? Like me and Jiwoo both have stage names from when we finally debut.”

“Oh?” Consider Heejin’s attention successfully diverted. 

Jungeun blushed, but Jiwoo smiled. “Yup. I’m gonna be called Chuu.”

“Bless you.”

“Not _ah choo_. Just ‘Chuu’. Get me?”

Heejin considered it for a few seconds, before nodding. “It’s cute. Suits you. And you?”

Jungeun huffed a little, cheeks already pinkish. “It’s uhm… Kim Lip.”

However, when Heejin shouted “Oh my god! Couple nicknames!” gleefully, the rosiness abandoned her in favour of indignation. 

“They are not couple nicknames. We didn’t even pick them together, each of us did it alone.” told her the first.

“Oh, come on. Lipchuu. You guys don’t see it? Really?”

“I chose Kim Lip because people in high school always joked that my name sounded like the dictator Kim Jung Un and that I would never get a booking and possibly end up dead if I kept using it.” explained Jungeun.

When Jiwoo patted her shoulder to comfort her, Heejin allowed them an extra second of feeling bad for themselves, before speaking again. “Well your fake names sound like a couple cause the sound two ‘lips’ would make together is literally ‘chuu’. Oh my god, you guys are like soulmates, if this wasn’t planned.”

“You are ridiculous, and they are stage names not fake names-”

“Guys,” Jungeun was looking between them with the air of someone who just connected two very surprising dots. “I think I know who’s in Hyejoo’s apartment.”

* * *

When Hyejoo had opened the door of her apartment that morning, she had honestly expected Yeojin to be on the other side.

They had not spoken to each other since the previous week and, while she knew it was not 100% her fault, she just wanted to apologize to the younger girl and get this all over with.

Normally they never apologised to each other, honestly. Both Hyejoo and Yeojin had kind of explosive temperaments and they always ended up snapping at each other for the most absurd things. The only thing was that this time Hyejoo wasn’t so sure it was just a petty fight.

While she really liked Chaewon and enjoyed her company, neither Yerim nor Yeojin actually knew the girl enough to form an opinion on her. Sure they had seen her around the complex, and were cordial, but they didn’t know her the way Hyejoo knew her.

For example, it was clear that the two girls had become fast friends with Heejin and Hyunjin, but they never invited the girls around when they were with Hyejoo, conscious that Hyejoo didn’t really know them the way they did.

So bringing Chaewon at their monthly shopping date had perhaps not been the smartest idea.

On the other side, Yeojin could have at least pretended to be okay with it the way Yerim had; the older of the trio had made Chaewon as comfortable as possible, trying to clue her in in their inside jokes and chatting with her when things started getting awkward.

Meanwhile Yeojin had remained sullen the whole time, snapping at Chaewon any time the opportunity presented itself. Sure, she was the youngest among them, but she still wasn’t a _child_.

That was a really long winded explanation as to why she was so surprised when she opened the door to her apartment and instead of a small little frog queen she came face to face with her older sister instead.

“Oh my god! What are you doing here, Miya!” she had shouted, before hearing the sound of people walking up the stairs, and dragging her inside immediately.

Her sister hadn’t minded, waiting for Hyejoo to lock the door behind them before hugging her as tight as possible. “Hyejoo, my baby sister!” she cooed immediately, pressing kisses all over her through her mask.

Hyejoo tried to push her off herself, pretending to be disgusted. “Can you take that thing off, please? And stop kissing me, I am not a child, Sunmi.”

Sunmi just grinned, taking off the mask and glasses from her face, and slumping on the couch. “What, I am not even allowed to miss my baby sis?” she joked, a small pout on her face. “Don’t act like you weren’t happy to see me, Jooya.”

Hyejoo rolled her eyes, even as she sat way closer to her than necessary. “That was just me being surprised. And I dragged you so fast just so that no one else would recognise you, not because I missed you.”

“Lies!”

The younger Son sister did her best to hide her smile. Because yeah, it was a lie.

When your sister -half sister - was the affluent and popular Lee Sunmi, who was always in the public eye singing and performing, being at the centre of the public eye in such a degree that she can’t even talk about her siblings on television, it was easy to miss her.

Kind of like when you feel lonely in a crowd, right? Her face was everywhere over the internet and on the streets, and yet sometimes Hyejoo forgot what she looked like.

“Maybe,” she decided then, ignoring the way her sister beamed at that. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Sunmi pulled her hood back, freeing her hair. “I just got back from touring the States, and I have a break until the Asian leg of the tour. So I thought, hey, before going to see dad and mom, I might as well see my favourites in the world, Sooya and Jooya.”

“That nickname is horrendous,” reminded her Hyejoo for like the millionth time. “Oh you can’t go to see mom and dad.”

Sunmi arched an eyebrow at that, before realisation settled in. “You haven’t told them yet?”

“I said I would tell them the next time I went to see them, and I just haven’t gone to see them yet,” explained Hyejoo.

Sunmi stared at her. “Hyejoo, you haven’t seen mom and dad since last summer?”

“I’m busy!”

“You don’t even go to school anymore!”

The younger glared. “You’re my sister, aren’t you supposed to be on my side no matter what?”

“Speaking of tiny bratty sisters,” said Sunmi, ignoring Hyejoo’s glare, “Where is Yeojin? I’m surprised she hasn’t sensed that I’m in the building already.”

Hyejoo shrugged. “Yerim now works on Saturdays, and I don’t know where Yeojin is.”

It was really cute how, despite seeing each other maybe 10 days per year, Sunmi was so good at reading her. “Did something happen between you two?”

A sigh. “I mean, I am not too sure. We kind of had an argument, last week and we haven’t spoken since… usually when we argue, we just see each other like the next day and everything is fixed. But she hasn’t come to see me, and I haven’t gone to see her, so now I’m slightly unsure on how to proceed.”

“Wow,” Sunmi looked surprised. “Are the two most dangerous specimen of younger siblings breaking up?”

Hyejoo rolled her eyes. “We aren’t dating.”

“I’m just joking, geez. Although, we do need to talk about how dry your romantic life is. You’re 20 and you have never even had a crush yet! At least Sooyoung managed to date Jinsoul for a while,” complained Sunmi, much to Hyejoo’s chagrin.

“Can you not remind me of that terrible couple?” she then fixed her eyes on Sunmi, a more serious expression on her face. “Help me oh wise sister.”

“Since you asked so gently,” cooed Sunmi, earning a punch when she tried to affectionally scratch Hyejoo’s chin. She just grinned at the attempt, “But anyway. I think that perhaps you two need to actually speak to each other. I mean, duh; but not the way you guys usually do, where you just show up and pretend the fight didn’t happen. You need to acknowledge what happened last week and work through it.”

When Hyejoo nodded, still looking slightly unhappy, Sunmi added, “I know a perfect guy for couple therapy if you guys want to try that - ah! That hurt.”

“Good!”

A sudden knock at the door prevented the argument from escalating, but also immediately sent alarm bells in Hyejoo’s head. She turned to Sunmi. “Don’t say a word.”

“Who’s there?” she called out, not opening the door.

“Hey, Hyejoo! It’s Jiwoo!”

Hyejoo grabbed a throw from the couch, motioning at Sunmi to hide in the bedroom before putting it over her head. She waited until her sister rolled her eyes and moved, then she opened the door slightly.

Of course, Jiwoo wasn’t alone. Jungeun and Heejin were standing behind her, looking a little too innocent for Hyejoo to believe it. “How can I help you?”

“Is Sooyoung home? I wanted to speak to her about something.” Jiwoo moved imperceptibly towards the door, but Hyejoo didn’t let it budge.

“No she’s not. Okay, bye-”

“Wait!” stopped her Heejin, putting a hand on the door to stop it from closing completely. “We forgot something in your apartment the other day, and we wanted to see if maybe she found it.”

Hyejoo narrowed her eyes. “What did you lose?”

The other took an embarrassed air. “It’s _ah_ … I’d rather not say.”

_ Yeah, right _ . Hyejoo was positive they must have seen Sunmi walking inside or something and were trying to figure out if it was really her or not. But Hyejoo wasn’t born yesterday and knew how to protect her sister. “We haven’t found anything embarrassing in the apartment, and if we did, Sooyoung would have thrown it away. She makes sure we clean it once a week at the very least.”

“That’s incredibly sexy of her,” muttered Jungeun, and Hyejoo rolled her eyes.

“Also I am really sick, so I’d rather you guys didn’t come in.”

Jiwoo frowned. “You don’t look sick.”

“Well, I am. Look. _Cough, cough_.” she faked, then smiling, daring any of them to say -

“That sounded fake,” commented Jungeun narrowing her eyes. “Also, I am pretty sure we heard someone going in your apartment, earlier.”

“First of all, _how dare you,_ ” started Hyejoo, looking outraged. “Second of all, _cough, cough_. And third, there is no one here. See?” She opened and closed the door too fast for them to register what she was doing then fake coughed again. “Fourth: goodbye.”

She made sure to lock the door with a key once she had closed the door behind her, ignoring the outraged calls from Heejin.

Sunmi peeked out from the bedroom, looking at her worried. “Are those _saesangs_?”

“Nah, just my nosy neighbours. Jiwoo, Heejin and Jungeun. They moved in like last month.” she explained, sitting back on the couch.

Sunmi gasped. “You know I’m always up to meet your neighbours if they are fans. Yeojin and Yerim are prime examples.”

Hyejoo shrugged. “The less people know we are related, the better.” 

“Rude!”

* * *

Jungeun stared at the door of their apartments from her couch, a narrowed gaze on her expression. “It has to be her.”

Heejin looked up from where she had been pretending to be immersed in a book. “I don’t know… it seems like a reach. What would the Lee Sunmi even be doing at Hyejoo’s house? Their surnames are different, they can’t be sisters.”

Jiwoo nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Plus, Sunmi never says much about her families in interviews. She has said she has siblings, but she never named them or told us their gender.”

“Just think about it. We know Sunmi has been going with the nickname Miya for a while, now. If I was her sister, I would probably have been used to call her that instead of Sunmi, because it feels more personal.”

“At the same time,” counterargued Heejin, “Miyane is her fandom name. It’s almost as impersonal as Sunmi.”

“But her fans still call her Sunmi, most of the time,” pointed out Jiwoo. “For sure Hyejoo is hiding someone in there, and they are probably a celebrity. But we cannot argue for sure that it’s Sunmi.”

“Do you know any other celebrity with Miya for nickname?”

“Hey girls, you left your door open!” called out a voice, before Yeojin was appearing in the doorway.

She was dressed differently than usual, a small blazer over a white turtleneck and a pair of tight black trousers under. Even Jungeun was impressed.

Not impressed enough to not say, “Open door does _not_ mean come on in.”

“Where are you going, dressed so fancy?” asked Heejin instead, smiling at the younger girl.

“I am meeting with a group of classmates for a project,” explained Yeojin, ignoring Jungeun. “Is Chaewon around?”

“Chaewon? No, why?” asked Jiwoo, curios. 

The younger girl shook her head, turning her attention to Heejin. “I wanted to talk to her about something… Well anyway, this is for you, Heejin. It’s for my presentation in a few weeks and I can invite up to ten people only, and well, since you and Hyunjin were so nice to me last time…” she looked uncomfortable, and Heejin smiled, taking the small blue envelope from her hand.

“I’d love to come. Thank you, Yeojin!”

Yeojin shrugged, even though she still looked shy. “I have some extra invites if you girls want to come -” she started by Jungeun shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it. We are basically strangers and I’m working anyway-”

“Speak for yourself,” said Jiwoo, smiling brightly at Yeojin. “I’d love to come, if there is any spaces available! What is the presentation about?”

“It’s divided in two main parts. The first part is me and several classmates making a presentation on Kang Kyeongae’s ‘ _Ingan munje_ ’; the second part is our very own poetry readings.” She shrugged. “It might be a little boring, but many companies will be coming to see us and I just think it’d be nice if I can have as many of my friends and aquantices as possible. It’s formal wear.”

“‘ _Ingan Munje_ ’! You’re going for colonial feminism?” At the surprise expression from everyone else, Heejin rolled her eyes. “I was quite good at humanities related subjects, you know?”

“Anyway, do you guys know if Sooyoung is home?”

Jungeun made eye contact with Jiwoo before speaking up. “No, it’s just Hyejoo and her sister Miya,” she explained, doing her best nonchalant expression.

Yeojin froze up, a surprised look on her face. “Miya is here?! I thought she was on tou-” she stopped herself abruptly, frowning at them. “How do you guys know her?”

“Were you about to say _tour_ , Yeojin?” asked Jiwoo, instead of answering.

The younger girl noticed the looks in their eyes and slowly stepped backwards towards the door. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

Heejin walked towards her. “What do you know, _Im_ Yeojin?”

“Bye!” shouted the other girl, making sure to shut the doors behind herself before dashing down the stairs.

The trio was hot on her heels, but nearly ran over Sooyoung in their rush to catch the younger girl who had disappeared down the stairs.

“Jesus Christ!” exclaimed the older woman, closing her eyes instinctively. When, luckily, they didn’t ruin themselves and her down the stairs, she opened them back. “What are you guys doing?!”

“Yeojin was-” 

“Hi, Sooyoung!” Answered Jiwoo instead, interrupting Jungeun. “Need a hand?”

The girl had about three bags of food in her arms, and immediately nodded in relief at Jiwoo’s offer. “God, thank you. I was actually going to call you guys to join us for lunch today, I have japchae, samgyeopsal and bulgogi in abundance. Where are Hyunjin and Chaewon?”

“No idea,” commented Heejin, taking one of the bags from Sooyoung, leaving her with just her mail in her left hand. “Honestly, we haven’t really seen anyone around today.”

“Mhm, makes sense,” she took out her keys, opening the door of the apartment. “Come on, then.”

“Sooya!”

“Sooyoung, no!”

“Miya!”

“Holy shit it’s Sunmi!”

“Sunmi?!”

“Sunmi!”

The moment they stepped inside the apartment, Hyejoo groaned falling backwards on the couch. “Sooyoung you idiot!”

Her sister couldn’t hear her, too busy hugging Sunmi as tight as possible. “Oh my god, what are you doing here? You didn’t even tell me you were coming!”

Sunmi laughed. “It was meant to be a surprise! How glad are you to see me?”

Meanwhile, Heejin, Jungeun and Jiwoo were staring at the eldest Son sister with a look of shock on their faces. In their defences, it wasn’t everyday they saw Lee Sunmi in their neighbour’s apartment, hair rolled in rollers and barefaced.

But there was no doubt that it _was_ Lee Sunmi.

There.

In Son Sooyoung’s apartment.

Sunmi finally let go of her sister, smiling and waving at the three girls staring at her. “Hey! You girls must be Hyejoo and Sooyoung’s friends.”

“Just neighbours,” immediately corrected her Hyejoo. “Not friends.”

Sunmi laughed. “As if you weren’t gushing about how nice and pretty they all were despite the complicated apartment situation they are in.”

“MIYA!”

“You are ruining her tsundere facade,” laughed Sooyoung, laughing harder when Sunmi stuck out her tongue at the younger of the three.

“Wow,” finally said Heejin, shaking her head. “You guys look really alike. I’m surprised we didn’t figure it out earlier.”

“What gave me away?” asked Sunmi, moving to help Sooyoung with the dishes.

Jungeun was still frozen, staring at Sunmi, but Jiwoo had finally managed to find her voice again. “You were trying too hard to look lowkey. Especially while wearing all that designer stuff,” she explained, moving to sit closer to the couch. “Wow. You really are Lee Sunmi. I’m a huge fan,”

“Really?” The older girl beamed at that. “Thank you so much!”

“Yeah! And Lip,” she pointed to where Jungeun was standing very still, “sorry Jungeun, always says that you are her role model.”

Sunmi put down the plate, waving at Jungeun. “Hey, Lip - Jungeun. Nice to meet you.”

The other girl blushed all the way to the root of her hair, which, in Heejin’s mind, was quite impressible.

“When did you girls move here? I don’t remember you from last time,” asked Sunmi, and wow, who would have thought they would be talking about something as silly as moving places with the ex member of Wonder Girls Lee Sunmi?

+

About two hours later, sitting around the lunch table, all previous sense of awkwardness had somewhat evaporated. Even Jungeun had managed to make eye contact with Sunmi without turning brittle red immediately.

Jiwoo was sitting on the couch instead, smiling at her best friend, but otherways keeping herself apart from the conversation.

Sooyoung approached her a few minutes later, coming to join her with two mugs of hot tea. “Sugar?”

“No thank you, I’m sweet enough,” answered Jiwoo, laughing when Sooyoung rolled her eyes at the remark. “Why are you over here instead of chatting with your sister?”

“Why are _you_ over here instead of chatting with my sister?” fired back Sooyoung, taking a sip of the scalding drink. “You said you want to be a singer, right: this is the perfect opportunity for you.”

“That’s exactly why I am staying away,” answered Jiwoo, shrugging slightly. “I mean… that would be taking a shortcut. And watching you… I don’t want to do that.”

“What do you mean watching me?”

The red haired girl smiled a little. “You are literally Lee Sunmi’s little sister. Instead of using that to your advantage and get the best opportunities you could, you file that away and took the hard road. Joined uni and cooking school and never asked her to pay for a penny, found a job on your own, made enough money to afford this place, moved in and even started taking care of Hyejoo.” She pointed at the younger Son sister, who was reading a little invite from a light blue envelope. “It makes me want to strive as hard as you did.”

“That’s stupid.”

_ That _ … was not what Jiwoo expected.

She turned to look at Sooyoung quizzically, and the older girl shrugged. “I’m sorry, it is. The music industry and the cooking industry cannot be compared. While in one a recommendation simply _helps_ your status, in the other a recommendation can make or break you. Giving Sunmi your number and getting an audition through her doesn’t mean you are using a ‘shortcut’. It just means that you didn’t took a gift horse in the mouth and accepted a chance that was given to you.

I managed to get this place through a recommendation from Haseul, not all by myself. If it wasn’t for her, there was no way that the landlord would have allowed two university leavers such as me and Jinsoul to take apartments this big. Sure, I worked hard… but I also took the chances I was given.” She frowned at where Hyejoo and Jungeun had started a wrestling match. “Oh, not with my plates still on that table!”

Jiwoo watched the older girl return at the table, and then smiled a little to herself.

Sooyoung was a really interesting person.

The door suddenly opened again, and Hyunjin appeared. “Hey, Heejin, why is there an envelop- Holy shit, is that Lee Sunmi?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Yeojin's outfit in the fic, she looks really cute with this. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwji0IaawbPnAhUS8uAKHaU9BgsQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.se%2Fpin%2F816136763708517661%2F&psig=AOvVaw0VRMT23bdPjdS_LrtN48Jl&ust=1580754946456669
> 
> also can you guys guess who my loona bias is? hint: she's not in this chapter.
> 
> also also: HAPPY LOONA COMEBACK WEEK!


	8. week eight: the one with the date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 09/12**
> 
> Haseul tries to take Vivi out on a date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I didn't post last week! Life kind of got in the way, and depression also got in the way and I couldn't even finish writing or planning the chapter. i'M really sorry.

The thing about being Vivi’s girlfriend was that Vivi had been dating Haseul way longer than Haseul had been dating Vivi. 

Technically yes, they had started dating only a few weeks ago.

But to Vivi, they had started dating ages before that. She knew Haseul inside out and was already in a somewhat comfortable phase in their relationship; meanwhile, Haseul was still walking on cloud nine, sure that this was a beautiful dream and not reality.

Vivi was at the domestic phase of their relationship, while Haseul was still agonizing about their first date.

Because yeah. That was an important thing that they had simply glazed over the day Vivi had decided to confront her and kiss the lights out of her.

Haseul had to approach their relationship like a game of chess in which she had simply arrived late. To get the upper hand, she had to do something that Vivi hadn’t thought about yet.

Hence, first date.

“Hey, Vi,” she called, feigning disinterest as she scrolled through her phone.

The pink haired woman was laying on the couch, head on the arm and legs on Haseul’s lap. She glanced up from the book she was reading, a raised eyebrow. “Uh?”

_ Don’t get distracted by how pretty she is. _ “Let’s go out to a movie and dinner, tomorrow. There is this new movie that I really want to see, Parasite,”

Vivi frowned. “I’m pretty sure Yerim has it on blue ray already,”

Of course, Haseul had known this was coming. She gave Vivi her best puppy eyes, “Yes, but I heard so many good things about it. Won’t it be amazing to be able to watch it on big screen?”

The other girl melted, shaking her head fondly as she sat up. “You’re so lucky you are cute,” she told her, smacking a kiss on her cheek.

“ _No hanky panky while I’m in the house!”_ shouted out Yeojin from the bedroom, and did she have x-ray vision or what?

“We aren’t even doing anything!” shouted back her sister, just because she could. “And why are you even at home already? Don’t you have friends?”

She heard the distinct sound of steps before red faced Yeojin appeared from behind her bedroom door. “Unlike some others, I actually enjoy staying at home doing my work every now and then.” She seemed to think for a second. “Also if anyone \- and I mean anyone - well except maybe Rihanna - but anyone else - asks if I’m home, the answer is no. I am in not for anyone,”

Vivi turned her head in Yeojin’s direction, looking a little disappointed, but before Haseul could catch on, the younger Im sister disappeared back in the bedroom.

* * *

Technically, all things considered, Haseul’s plan had been failproof. She had made arrangements for a date with Vivi without the older girl as much as hinting that she suspected she was being asked out. Sure the plan was a little cheesy, and some might argue that it was an attempt at getting laid, but: Haseul knew Vivi would have liked it.

Vivi loved romantic comedies, and playing with puppies, and taking pictures of every sunset she came across, the colour pink and stupidly cheesy pick up lines.

She would have loved a traditional movie and dinner.

Except that the universe clearly had zero intentions of cooperating with Haseul’s plan.

“I can’t believe this,” complained Haseul, walking towards the restaurant with Vivi. “Everything was fine up until yesterday!”

Vivi patted her shoulder comfortingly. “There is nothing we can do against a busted pipe,” she said, a small smile on her face.

Haseul suspected Vivi was glad the movie was cancelled. She didn’t have any proof, but the suspicion was still there.

When she caught her staring distrusting, Vivi laughed, eyes disappearing in an eye smile. “I didn’t bust the pipe myself, if that’s what you were thinking.”

“I didn’t say _anything_ ,”

“You thought it.”

“Get out of my head,” complained Haseul, but her pout lifted immediately when Vivi laughed and she felt the girl’s hand slip in hers.

At least the restaurant looked open.

+

Sooyoung didn’t exactly _hate_ meetings with her boss and the rest of her staff members. Usually that simply meant that they were getting a new training, a bonus round of pay or a new menu.

She did however hate the meetings that ended up with all of them sitting in the main room with their boss standing over them in front of a board and telling them that,

“It’s a charitable event, and it would look very good for me and the restaurant if all of my employees came too. Especially if you all came with their partners,” he wiggled his eyebrows around the room, and Sooyoung repressed the need to roll her eyes.

All she needed was a good excuse not to come and -

“Sooyoung!” She looked up like a deer caught in highlights, suddenly nervous. Did she _actually_ roll her eyes?

The man didn’t seem pissed off though. Instead his eyes were gleaming. “You will be joining us this year, I’m sure?”

The rejection she had already started to build in her head suddenly crumbled. Apparently Sooyoung was too polite to reject the same event twice in the span of two years.

She smiled, teeth clenched on each other. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss it again,” 

Her boss continued talking for a few more minutes, before finally letting the staff go, and Sooyoung couldn’t get out of there fast enough.

_ Now  _ she had to find an excuse believable enough that it wouldn’t make her attend but also not dangerous enough that they would expect her to take too many dates off work.

“Hey, Sooyoung!” called out a voice and the black-haired girl turned around, immediately smiling when she saw Yoona hurrying behind her.

“Hey yourself.”

Yoona smirked. “Bossman there forcing you to come to the party this time around?”

Sooyoung grimaced. “I really don’t want to go there alone and spend my entire time faking a whole other personality so that he gets some more money.”

“More money for him means better equipment for us,” tried the other girl, but Sooyoung didn’t appear ecstatic at the news. “Plus you don’t have to go alone. We can go together.”

That did make Sooyoung pause for a second.

While they worked together and were the two main chefs at the restaurant, Sooyoung couldn’t say that her and Yoona were particularly close. Sure, more than acquaintances, but the word _friend_ didn’t really fit their relationship. Certainly, they weren’t the type of friends who went with each other to work related functions.

“Together?” she inquired, a little nervous all of a sudden. “You mean with the other staff?”

Yoona stopped walking for a second, a look of decision on her face. Sooyoung wanted to keep walking, because her brain had a sudden inkling as to what was about to happen, but her feet were planted on the asphalt.

“No,”

_ Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it- _

“Together as in with me. Just you and me.”

She _said_ it.

The thing was in all her life, Sooyoung had probably had a crush on a total of three people, with the last one being Jung Jinsoul. Many people had asked her out - even before she was in high school - but, as someone who wasn’t a fan of leading people on, Sooyoung had always said no.

Her and Jinsoul had briefly dated in university, and, for the past 3-4 years, Sooyoung hadn’t dated anyone.

And while Yoona was objectively attractive and nice, and almost everything Sooyoung looked for in a woman… she just felt _nothing_ for her.

Which normally would have been her answer. “ _No, I don’t like you back.”_

The problem arised with the fact that Yoona _worked_ with Sooyoung, and telling her something like that would just lead to awkwardness. Which is why the next words from Sooyoung’s mouth were -

“I have a girlfriend,”

That did seem to surprise Yoona - which: rude much?. The older girl narrowed her eyes a little. “I thought you said you were going to be going there alone.”

When it was in panic mode, her brain worked particularly fast, and her mouth even faster. “Yeah, because usually she works on Saturdays but if I tell her early enough, I am sure she would actually be free to come with me.” Something caught her eyes in the window behind Yoona and she immediately moved towards the door. “Speaking of coming with me, I am meeting some of my friends for a meal right now. See you later, Yoona!”

She had not been particularly subtle, Sooyoung knew that. But she hoped that Yoona would stare at her through the window long enough to see her sitting at the table and thinking that perhaps Sooyoung wasn’t lying.

She dropped on the chair and smiled at the other two occupants. “Keep talking with a smile on your faces please,”

Haseul stared at her like she wanted to throttle her, but Vivi immediately and genuinely smiled. “Hey, Sooyoung! What are you doing here?”

“Yeah,” added Haseul, staring at her friend with a strange expression. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiter?” called out Sooyoung, waving a hand. “Without staring at the window can you tell me if there is a girl with light brown hair still staring?”

Vivi glanced at the window really quickly before turning her face back to her meal. “She just walked away. Are you okay?”

Finally Sooyoung allowed herself to relax, putting her head on the table. “No. Me and my big mouth managed to create a perfectly sized grave and I am not so sure I can climb out.”

“Your use of metaphors seems to indicate a pretty normal health,” interrupted her Haseul, still trying to send her silent signals. “How about you tell us about what ever is bothering you at home?”

“Would you like to order?” asked the waiter, suddenly popping out behind Haseul.

Sooyoung glanced between Vivi and her best friend, realising that perhaps she was crashing in the middle of something. “Uh, I-”

Vivi grabbed her arm, “Hey, ignore Haseul. Order whatever you want, I’ll pay.”

Haseul was looking at Vivi with a pout on her face but she wasn’t scowling at Sooyoung anymore, which the other girl took as meaning that everything was all right. 

“Okay. Thank you girls.”

* * *

Needless to say, the romantic dinner Haseul had tried to plan for the two of them had backfired. Despite her best efforts at getting Sooyoung to leave immediately, Vivi - sweet and kind hearted cockblocking Vivi - had insisted on letting the girl hang around with them and well… Haseul didn’t want to be the asshole that forced Sooyoung to leave.

She could be the asshole to laugh at her best friend’s shenanigans, though, which she did with gusto as Sooyoung described getting cornered by her coworker and lying through her teeth about getting a girlfriend.

“You shouldn’t have laughed at her,” commented Vivi once they got back to their apartment. She was smiling a little though, which meant she didn’t really mean it.

“She deserved it,” commented Haseul, heart starting to beat a little faster once she checked in the bedroom and realised that Yeojin was gone.

Maybe the date night wasn’t going to be such a terrible flop, after all. “Hey, Vi, how about I go download the movie on my laptop so that we can project it on the TV? A cinema experience in the comfort of our house.”

“I thought you didn’t want to watch it at home?”

Haseul shrugged. “It’s the only way I can finally enjoy this movie, since the cinema was closed. Plus we can eat popcorn and lie on the couch while we watch it.” 

The pink haired girl lit up. “Oh, that sounds nice! I’ll get the popcorn!”

Okay, so maybe they didn’t manage to do the whole movie at a cinema and then a romantic dinner, but perhaps it was better this way. Now they would be alone, maybe in a warm blanket, cuddling on the couch while watching a movie together. That was way more intimate than what she had originally planned.

However, by the time Haseul returned to the living room, movie loaded and ready to start playing, her previous excitement had suddenly vanished.

She stared at the girl sitting next to Vivi. “What are _you_ doing here?”

Jinsoul smiled at her brightly, like she was unable to pick up the slight hostility in Haseul’s voice. Or perhaps she was able to and was just ignoring it.

Vivi was the one to answer though. “We were out of popcorn so I went to get it from upstairs,” she explained, shrugging. “And once I told Jinsoul what it was for, she asked if she could join.”

‘ _Why didn’t you say no, then_?’ was the question Haseul really wanted to ask. Instead she kept her mouth shut and took a seat next to her girlfriend, placing down the laptop.

Was Vivi knowingly cockblocking them or were Haseul’s plans on how to set up a date plainly stupid? Maybe she should have been clearer from the beginning that she was trying to set up a perfect first date between them.

She spared a glance to her girlfriend who was staring rapt at the television while Jinsoul was inhaling the popcorn next to her, and immediately mollified at her intrigued expression.

At least she now knew that, had no one interrupted them, the date would have been a complete success, since Vivi seemed to have enjoyed every part of it.

* * *

Sooyoung was about to go to sleep when someone suddenly knocked at her door. For once, Hyejoo had gone to bed before her, so Sooyoung walked as quietly as possible towards the door, and opened it.

She nearly shouted when she opened the door to a white faced girl with a bright wash band on the top of her head.

The face under the sheet mask pouted. “I am not that scary!”

Sooyoung ran a hand through her hair, stepping aside to let Jiwoo inside. “Imagine me, ready to go to sleep, opening my door and seeing a ghost with a bow on their head staring at me through the dark corridor.”

Jiwoo considered it for a moment, then conceded. “Fine, maybe it was a little scary.” She shook her head, then fixed Sooyoung with the cutest expression she could manage. “Anyway, there is a reason I am here. I need a favour.”

The other girl walked inside the kitchen, grabbing a mug from the table. “What’s up?”

The red haired girl hesitated for a second, before speaking. “I was wondering if I can put you down as one of my references? I am applying for this job at this super cool radio station, and well, you are one of the few people I know who can be considered fully reliable and while I love Heejin and the others, their jobs-”

“Sure.”

Jiwoo paused in her tirade. “Uh?”

Sooyoung snorted, shrugging. “Sure, I’ll do it. Do you need to write down my details now or?”

The other girl stared at her for a few seconds, then a huge smile broke on her lips. It was surprising she was able to smile with a sheetmask on her face, but well: she was Jiwoo after all -

Sooyoung gasped in surprise when the younger girl hugged her suddenly, face tilted backwards so that she wouldn’t get the other’s clothing wet. “You are so nice to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she called and why were Sooyoung’s cheeks heating up all of a sudden?

When she finally let go of her, her eyes were still twinkling in gratitude. “You have no idea how grateful I am for this. Seriously, if you ever need anything, I’ll do it for you. _Anything._ ”

Jiwoo seemed to not be aware that usually no one ever called someone’s references in normal circumstances and Sooyoung wasn’t about to tell her that. It was nice being appreciated and -

A sudden lightbulb went up in her mind, and before Sooyoung could fully process the thought, the words were tumbling out of her mouth.

“Actually, maybe there is something you could help me with. If it’s not too uncomfortable for you.”

Jiwoo looked intrigued.

* * *

Yeojin wasn’t _technically_ avoiding Hyejoo or Chaewon.

She had actually almost gone up to Chaewon to speak and everything, but the girl wasn’t home and, well, Yeojin wasn’t a magician now, was she?

And if she suddenly spent a lot of nights working on her final presentation instead of home or with Yerim and Hyejoo well, that was unfortunate.

And if she skipped their shopping group date two times consecutively and ended up going alone early in the morning after spending the night with a friend, well that wasn’t anyone’s fault.

So why did she immediately panic and stop at the bottom of the stairs when she was climbing back towards her apartment just because Chaewon and Hyejoo were standing at her door?

Uh.

Maybe she was avoiding them.

Both of them looked like they were about to head down the stairs and were exactly would Yeojin hide? She wasn’t ready to have a discussion with them about everything, no matter what Vivi said or what Sunmi kept texting her to do.

When an hand suddenly wrapped around her arm she managed not to shout in fear, even as she was tugged down the stairs at a startingly speed.

Her kidnapper didn’t stop pulling until they had reached the last flight of stairs, allowing Yeojin to finally look at her in the eye for a few moments.

“You can either join me for a round of jogging or talk to them,” said the dark haired girl, and Yeojin grimaced a little. Neither of the propositions sounded the slightest appealing, but the louder the sound of Hyejoo’s combat shoes became the less horrible the idea of running away appeared.

She nodded at Hyunjin, who grabbed her hand this time and pulled her outside, running.

Yeojin was not a runner, and in a matter of 5 minutes she was already holding Hyunjin’s hand as tight as possible to slow her down until she stopped.

The dark haired girl managed to continue with Yeojin dragging behind her for about two more minutes before she stopped, breathing still as calm as ever and a scowl on her face. “Are you already tired? I thought you loved sports,”

“Where, h, did you, hhh, get, hh that, hhh?” managed the younger girl, plopping down on floor

Hyunjin appeared disappointed. “Come on Yeojin. If you want to become my jogging partner, you’re going to need to run faster than that.”

“I have _no_ intention of _ever_ becoming your running partner.” quickly said Yeojin, a little glare on her face. “I hate running.”

“Whatever you say,” said Hyunjin, starting to jog again.

“Wait,” called out Yeojin, painfully standing up again and running after the older girl. “You can’t just leave me here!”

Hyunjin didn’t turn around, but she slowed down enough for Yeojin to be able to grab the arm of the jumper tied around her waist. 

Yeojin couldn’t see it, but Hyunjin was smirking.

+

After being woken up by Hyejoo and Chaewon, Haseul hadn’t gone back to sleep.

Yeojin had left her a message the night before saying that she wouldn’t be coming back that night (and seriously, the two of them really ought to have a sit down so that she could find out why her sister was acting so weird all of a sudden) which meant…

It was only her and Vivi in the apartment.

And wasn’t there a saying that the fastest route to the heart of someone you loved was through the stomach?

So she got to work. She quickly surveiled the fridge, trying to see what she had to work with.

To be honest, Haseul hadn’t really cooked a full fledged traditional breakfast in a hot minute. When she and Yeojin were younger, her mother always made sure to whip out something for them at least once a week, and the two sisters, and her parents would sit around the table, gorging themselves with egg fried kimchi rice, seaweed, miso soup and others.

After her parent’s passing, while she had always done her best to make sure Yeojin had a proper breakfast, the more complicated tradition that her mother had tried to pass onto her had simply… disappeared.

Sometimes, for particular occasions, Haseul did cook a more elaborate breakfast, but between school, work and everything else, they could never sit down and talk about their life while consuming the food.

As she whisked the egg inside a small bowl the sadness that always overwhelmed her whenever she thought of her parents made space to the memory of her father’s face on those morning he woke up early on a sunday to her mother’s cooking.

Even though Im Hwayoung made a point to cook breakfast quite regularly, Im Junha always looked incredibly shocked and pleased at his wife’s production. He would smile and loudly thank god for the blessing of a wife he had managed to find.

And her mother pretended to be embarrassed and annoyed at his compliments, but she was smiling, pleased.

Haseul wanted that kind of relationship with Vivi. Not that she was gonna terrify the poor girl by implying that she wanted to marry her one day or anything. She just wanted to cook for her and have her fawning in happiness over her. Or vice versa; Haseul wasn’t particularly picky.

By the time everything was cooked and prepared, she was sweating. She served the various plates and bowls on the table, hurrying to take a shower before waking Vivi up to the surprise.

She could already imagine her reaction. Even though one would never guess by her minute figure, Vivi was a huge fan of food. She always gave the best reactions to anything she ate, and was not a picky eater. And Haseul knew, from years of experience, that the older girl was going to love everything she had prepared.

Her beautiful image of her and Vivi sharing a romantic breakfast together was fractured the moment she stepped outside of the bathroom, her sister’s familiar shrill attracting her to the kitchen where -

Yup.

There she was beautiful, precious, annoying, evil little Yeojin, digging into the miso soup while loudly complaining about something to Hyunjin and Vivi.

The older turned around when she heard Haseul’s steps, smiling and flushing a little when she saw her in the doorway. “Can Hyunjin join us for breakfast? Her and Yeojinnie went jogging today!”

Haseul had various questions zooming around in her head - why was Vivi red all of a sudden? since when was Hyunjin friends with Yeojin? Since when did Yeojin _jog_? \- but she just shrugged, defeated. 

“Sure,”

She morosely walked back in her bedroom, a small pout on her face.

The universe (and her supposed friends and family) was clearly against her and Vivi having a perfect first date, no matter what Haseul tried to make it work. And who was she to try and defeat the universe?

A small knock at the door stopped her from taking off her towel, and she turned back towards the door. “Yeojin?”

“No,” answered Vivi, head peaking from behind the door. “Can I come in?” She noticed that Haseul was still holding on to her towel and blushed again. “Or do you want to, uh… ?”

_ Oh. _ Haseul had to stop a small proud and conceited smirk from appearing on her face. Vivi thought that she was _attractive._

Like she could hear the smugness from Haseul’s brain, the other girl narrowed her eyes and cleared her throat. “Anyway… why are you acting weird?”

Haseul’s smugness evaporated. “Uh?”

“You’re acting weird,” repeated the othe girl. “Yesterday at dinner when Sooyoung came in; then when we were watching the movie with Jinsoul; and just now with Hyunjin. Did you do something you’re trying to make up for?”

“No!”

Vivi didn’t look convinced. “I mean that was an expensive restaurant you took us to, and you insisted on paying the bill, and now you’ve made a whole breakfast buffet from scratch -”

“I was trying to make the perfect first date!” finally let out Haseul, feeling her cheeks heating up and immediately looking down at the floor. Vivi didn’t say anything, but Haseul refused to look up as she continued. “I wanted to impress you with something unforgettable for our very first date but then everyone decide to crash -”

“But we already had a first date,” commented Vivi, confused. “When we went to the yoghurt place-”

“No,” Haseul shook her head. “I meant a first date that both of us could consider a first date. Not the first time we hung around as friend, not the first time you took me out because we became girlfriends on twitter. But a real first date that we both could look back to and say ‘that was our official first date’.”

Finally she looked back up. Vivi was staring at her with a strange look on her face, but it melted into the most beautiful smile when Haseul finally met her eyes.

“Baby,” Haseul’s heart skipped a beat. “Every first date is a little bit of a disaster. Everyone knows that. That’s the whole point of it, so that you can look back and wonder ‘why did I ever decide to do that’?” 

She shook her head grabbing Haseul’s free hand into hers and pressing a soft kiss on it. “If you really want to take me on a ‘first real date’ I’m not going to stop you. But to me? This is as perfect as it gets.”

She let go of Haseul’s hand and walked back towards the door, a slightly flustered Haseul staring at her. Then Vivi winked. “And as far as first dates go, I think this was a success: I have you half naked in your bedroom and you made me breakfast.”

Even though the door was closed, Vivi was sure everyone in the complex heard Haseul’s scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway have yall already got your copies of #? what's your favourite song? 
> 
> as a vivicult member, oh yes I am is the superior track on the album, period


	9. week nine: the one with the presentation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 16/12**
> 
> tsunderes... tsunderes everywhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :/ sorry for the delay. ill do my best to be more punctual

According to Park Chaewon, the use of the words ‘ _I don’t know_ ’ or ‘ _I am not sure_ ’ were indicators of a beta human - someone who simply didn’t have everything it took. 

She had grown up in a pretty lovable family; both her and her older brother been pampered and cared for their whole life, and, as the youngest girl, she had quickly made sure to assert her dominance on everyone else in the house.

The nickname of ‘ _princess’_ had not been ‘given’ to her by her parents but rather, achieved through quick thinking and being decisive.

Yet, now, in front of Hyejoo and Yerim, the terrible words came out.

“I don’t know if I should come,” she let out, looking at somewhere above her cup of tea.

Yerim rolled her eyes. “I am pretty sure if she gave you an invite, then she expects you to come,” she told her. Then she pointed at where Jiwoo was complaining to Heejin about whether she should curl her hair or not. “She barely knows Jiwoo, and yet she invited her.”

“‘Barely know’ is better than ‘hung out with her once and then proceeded to avoid like the plague’,” added Hyejoo, to which Yerim glared.

“Aren’t you supposed to convince her to come to the show? That’s not how you do it.”

Hyejoo shrugged, looking over the open door and towards her apartment door. “I am not really sure if I should go myself,” she confessed. “We haven’t spoken to each other in weeks. She didn’t even come by when Sunmi came over, and you _know_ how much Yeojin loves Sunmi.”

“More than she loves you,” agreed Yerim in amusement. When her best friend didn’t answer with her usual eye roll, she sobered up pretty quickly. “Wait, you are serious. You are actually bothered by this?”

The black haired girl seemed almost offended that Yerim hadn’t been taking her seriously. “Of course I’m bothered by this! My,” she grimaced, “One of my bestest and closest friends has been avoiding me for like two weeks over an argument.”

“Aw, one of your bestest friends,” cooed Yerim, before turning serious again. “At the end of the day, whether she was busy or actually avoiding you on purpose, Yeojin gave you those invites. She gave them to _both_ of you. That means she wants you there.”

Hyejoo narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Or maybe it would have been too weird if she had invited everyone in the building except the two of us.”

“She didn’t invite _everyone_ ,”

“Who didn’t she invite?”

Yerim thought about it for a second. “Everyone who lives in apartments 1 to 5,” Before Hyejoo could reply to that, Yerim shushed her. “Anyway, more important matter. Haseul, Vivi, Sooyoung, Jiwoo, Heejin and Hyunjin have taken Haseul’s van-suv-insane car. Wanna share a cab with me?”

Hyejoo pretended to consider it. “Is Jinsoul coming?” When Yerim rolled her eyes and shook her head, the other girl finally smiled. “Count me in!”

+

“You could have sat next to Jiwoo, you know?” complained Hyunjin, exactly 27 seconds after Haseul had started the car.

Vivi and Haseul were sitting at the front of the car; Sooyoung and Jiwoo had taken the seats right behind them, but Heejin had followed Hyunjin at the back of the car instead of taking the free seat between the two.

Heejin rolled her eyes. “All you do is complain. I like sitting at the back during trips and stuff.”

“This is like a 20 minute drive to a like conference hall. It’s not a trip,” pointed out Hyunjin, to which Jiwoo felt the need to turn towards them.

“This car is like a bus, we could definitely count this as a trip.”

“See?” 

Hyunjin ignored the other girl, instead turning towards the window at her side.

“Anyway,” continued Heejin, when Hyunjin stopped talking, “is this Yeojin’s first performance thing?”

“No actually,” said Vivi, turning her face around. She had been fiddling with the radio for a while but had seemed to come out empty handed. “But it’s the first time she will have a whole bit that she has to present herself. Haseul is very nervous,”

“I am not nervous!” complained her girlfriend, but they all remembered her screaming at everyone less than 15 minutes before just because they weren’t ready yet. “Yeojin will do well, I’m sure of it.”

“Of course she’ll do well,” Sooyoung snorted. “She’s your sister. When it comes to academics, the perfectionism is ingrained in the both of you.”

“I am not a perfectionist!” tried Haseul, but Sooyoung immediately bursted out laughing. 

Vivi tried to hide a giggle, but immediately gave up when her girlfriend pouted at her. “Babe, I love you but: you are totally a perfectionist.”

Hyunjin snorted. “At the risk of getting kicked out of the car, you kind of are. You literally highlighted all the ‘dodgy’ areas in our contracts like it was some sort of half term paper. And Jinsoul’s the teacher!”

Jiwoo also laughed at this, and Haseul sighed. “Fine, maybe I am a little-”

“- completely -”

“- a little,” she glared in the mirror at Sooyoung, “of a perfectionist. But that never hurt anyone, right?”

“I beg to differ,” started her best friend, but Haseul didn’t let her finish.

“Then beg.”

Everyone laughed at that, except for Hyunjin who’s gaze was fixed on the way Heejin was shivering next to her. When she made eye contact with the other girl, Hyunjin, arched an eyebrow. “Are you cold already?”

The answer was _yes,_ Heejin was absolutely freezing. Her choice in dress was very pretty, and it was warm; however, the absence of coat was making itself known, just as Hyunjin had predicted back at the apartment and Heejin had vehemently denied. And well Heejin might be cold, but she was definitely stubborn.

“I am perfectly warm,” she told her, daring her to say anything about it.

Hyunjin didn’t, pulling out her phone instead of arguing with her.

After few more minutes of silence, Jiwoo turned to Sooyoung, arching an eyebrow at her. “Hey, should we add this to the “dating” story?” she wondered, and the black-haired girl considered it for a second.

She hadn’t told anyone – nor was she looking to tell anyone - but she had ended up asking Jiwoo if she would go to the Christmas Party with her. As. Her date.

It wasn’t her brighterst idea, but she hadn’t had much chance to think about it.

But it made sense right?

She couldn’t ask Vivi or Haseul, because they were dating each other; and it was definitely too soon to risk making either of them jealous. And she couldn’t ask Jinsoul because they had their whole history and Sooyoung refused to even chance the two of them getting back together or get uncomfortable with each other again.

Yeojin and Yerim were literally her non blood sisters and the sole idea made her gag.

It made sense to ask Jiwoo; she knew her better than anyone else in the apartment, and Sooyoung wasn’t willing to pay an escort for the night.

And surprisingly, Jiwoo had said yes without much thought. Sooyoung had prepared to beg and owe her a favour of life over it, but the moment she had said “Hey, could you possibly come with me to my Christmas dinner party as my fake date?”, Jiwoo had just said “Sure!”

She turned her attention to the red haired girl. “I haven’t said this enough, but thank you for accepting to help me out.” Jiwoo shook her head, and Sooyoung grabbed onto her hand, forcing her to pay attention. “No, I am serious.” 

Jiwoo’s hand was really soft.

“I put myself in this situation and instead of laughing at me at the insane idea I had, you decided to help me out. Thank you so much.”

The other girl gave Sooyoung a little smile, but didn’t say anything. Even so, Sooyoung felt like she could hear her words without her needing to speak them.

“What are you whispering and why are you holding hands?” questioned Heejin, poking her head between the headrest.

The older let go of Jiwoo’s hand immediately, suddenly flustered, but Jiwoo just rolled her eyes. “None of your business, Nosy.”

“We’ve arrived,” exclaimed Hyunjin, before Jiwoo and Heejin could start playfully snarking at each other like two overgrown poodle. She gave a look to Sooyoung, like ‘ _look what we have gotten ourselves into_ ’ to which Sooyoung answered with a look that said ‘ _I have no idea what you’re saying_ ’.

“Come on everyone,” said Vivi, opening the door. “It’s Yeojin time.”

* * *

When she had knocked at the door, Jungeun had genuinely thought that she was just kidding herself.

She had totally forgotten that tonight was the night of Yeojin’s show, which meant no one was home. The only problem? Jungeun had left her house keys inside that morning instead of taking them out with her.

She had tried Sooyoung’s door but neither her nor Hyejoo had answered. Then she had tried Jinsoul’s door, already ready to spend the rest of the evening on the stairs of the complex.

When Jinsoul opened the door, she was immediately both surprised and grateful at once.

The girl was wearing her hair in two pucca style buns and was wearing round thick frames. She kind of looked like a blonde owl.

She blinked. “Oh… Jungeun. Is everything okay?”

Jungeun wanted to lie and say that everything was all right, because Jinsoul was crearly busy. But she was bone tired and the words slipt out of her mouth without her consent. “Uhm, I forgot my keys-”

“Come on in,” immediately said the blonde, not even listening to the rest of the words. “The others are all at Yeojin’s presentation, right? Yeah, just leave your shoes and coat there.”

Jungeun obeyed before diligently following the girl in the living room.

Despite the space in all three apartments being probably the same, Jinsoul’s place looked somewhat tiny. Not, tiny was the wrong word; it was very full.

There were potted plants everywhere and different objects all over every free surface. The walls were decorated with drawings and letters that Jungeun quickly discerned that must be from her students.

Her living room table was covered in papers, with a lone laptop sitting among them and a cold plate of noodles in a corner.

Jinsoul noticed her looking around the room and blushed a little. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone and was working.” Then she shrugged. “And I am not that clean to begin with. I’m a bit of a hoarder. But please, take a seat on the couch, watch some TV, whatever you want. Mi casa es tu casa.” she finished, taking a seat back at the table.

That was a quick dismissal.

Instead of following the request and leaving, Jungeun paused to observe her for a second.

This was the first time she had actually seen Jinsoul acting/looking like anything resembling an adult. She was clearly marking some primary school kid’s homework or test, and she was completely focused on that.

The sink was empty of dishes and Jungeun was going out on a limb to say that she had probably been working on those papers all day and hadn’t had a chance to eat or anything.

She dropped her bag on the floor, pulling out her phone and heading decidedly towards the kitchen. Proper decorum dictated that she asked before going into a stranger’s kitchen and cooking something; _but_ , Jinsoul _had_ said ‘mi casa es tu casa’. This was all on her.

She pressed play on the melon app, lowering the volume so that IU’s high notes didn’t disturb Jinsoul too much and got to work.

* * *

“ _That. Was. Amazing._ ” decided Haseul, clapping so hard that her hands were probably starting to become sore.

Not that anyone could blame her. The entire presentation had been amazing, but Yeojin? She had been absolutely incredible.

“I know this is not a competition,” she continued, as the lights turned back on, “But she absolutely won this.”

Sooyoung nodded, a huge smile on her face. “I am shocked at how good she is at public speaking. Like I know she isn’t shy, but the confidence? Insane.”

“Shame on you all for having any hint of doubt about what her performance was going to be like,” declared Yerim, standing up from her seat. “I knew she was going to be amazing, because Im Yeojin _is_ amazing. She carried the whole thing, everyone else can go home.”

She looked over at everyone else sitting down. “Anyone else gonna sneak backstage with me to quickly give her these flowers?”

Haseul pouted, shaking her head. “Last time I tried to, they laughed at me when I said I was the same age as everyone else. I don’t even look that old,” she had started to complain, so Yerim turned her attention to Hyejoo and Chaewon.

Both girls looked at each other, unsure. They had split the price of the bouquet with Yerim, but neither of them felt confident enough to go with the purple haired girl backstage. 

“I don’t know-”

“God, stop being ridiculous!” snapped Hyunjin out of nowhere. She had been watching their argument in disinterest, but seemed suddenly irritated by them.

“I’m sorry?”

“You guys are best friends. Enough of this ‘ _Oh, I don’t know if Yeojin will be okay with this’_ or whatever. She cares for you and you guys care for her; just go backstage, and everything will be fine. Go!”

Her tone was snappy, but when finally the two girls followed Yerim towards backstage, she smiled.

“You big softie!”

Hyunjin’s smile disappeared again, as she looked at Jiwoo with feigned disinterest. “What?”

“You’re an old soft tsundere, I’m on to you,” gloated the older girl, elbowing her side.

“Stop it. I am not soft,” 

Hyunjin was probably trying to sound menacing, but all Jiwoo could see in her expression was a disgruntled cat.

She arched an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Yes,”

Jiwoo pointed to where Heejin was laughing at something Vivi was saying, a familiar and yet surprising black leather jacket draped on her back. “How come Heejin has your jacket then?”

“She was cold,” said Hyunjin, defensively, avoiding Jiwoo’s eyes.

“Uh-uh…”

“You’re annoying, leave me alone,”

Jiwoo laughed as Hyunjin went to stand next to Sooyoung and Haseul, but the girl did her best to ignore her and the little blush on her face. She was just cold.

“I’m about to die,” complained Yeojin, fanning herself with the electric fan on the table while her friends laughed around her.

“Don’t lie!” added Haena, shaking her head. “You were probably the best out of all of us. You conquered the stage!”

Yeojin rolled her eyes. “Please. I am pretty sure everyone saw my legs shaking.”

“ _You_ were shaking? When? No one even realised here, let alone out there,” said Doyum, in disbelief. “And no one could keep their eyes off you. If you get casted to be a kpop idol please refer me.”

This did make Yeojin laugh. “An idol? All I did was stand up there and repeat a memorised text in front of an audience.”

Chaerin didn’t look impressed. “Idols have been casted for walking in a supermarket. Don’t act precious,”

Yeojin made to complain, when she noticed a familiar purple head marching towards her. 

“Oh, Yerim!” she squealed, escaping from her friends so that she could rush to hug her friend.

The other oof-ed, nearly dropping the bouquet of flower she got, but hugged her back. 

Yeojin didn’t give her a chance to speak. “Did you see me? What did you think? Did everyone come? What did Haseul say? Did you like it? Did I ruin it?”

“You were really good,”

Yeojin smiled, then frowned, cause it wasn’t Yerim who spoke.

The purple haired girl winked and stepped to the side, revealing -

“Oh.” Yeojin suddenly felt more nervous than she had felt earlier on the stage. “Hyejoo. Chaewon. You came.”

Hyejoo didn’t answer, but Chaewon smiled a little. “Yeah… Thank you so much for the invite. You were pretty great up there. Right, Hyejoo?”

The dark-haired girl looked at Chaewon like she had just been betrayed then finally made eye contact with Yeojin.

The younger girl was looking at her and licking her lower lip.

When they were younger, before all of them moved to Seoul to live with their sisters, Hyejoo had discovered what she would later dub as ‘Yeojin’s guilt tell’.

Every time Yeojin did something that she was embarrassed about or that she felt guilty about - when she broke Haseul’s phone in high school, when she had forged a fake signature so that her and Yerim could get a matching earring, whenever she skipped class - she always did the same thing, without realising.

She always licked and bit her lower lip over and over again, without even realising she was doing so.

Hyejoo had never told her or anyone else about the tell. But it was there.

Yeojin felt bad. She felt sorry.

Without stopping to second guess herself she walked up the other girl and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug, closing her eyes as she started to speak. “You did amazing up there, Yeo. You were incredible, as per usual.

And I’m sorry we argued the other day, and that I didn’t tell you about Chaewon joining. I should have,”

She stopped when she felt Yeojin sighing, her smaller arms wrapping around Hyejoo’s waist. “No, I am sorry. I was acting like a child and that was so uncalled for. You are allowed to have other friends, and I just acted out for no reason. I mean, I had a reason, but it was stupid.”

“I’m not leaving you behind just because I have another friend.”

Yeojin’s cheeks reddened and she tried to get out of the embrace. When Hyejoo refused to let go, she craned her face in her direction. “Did Vivi say something?”

Hyejoo snorted. “We might have argued, but you are still one of my best friends. Given enough time, I can discern your reasonings. I am just sorry I didn’t discern them quicker and apologize earlier.”

“I am sorry too,” sighed Yeojin, closing her eyes again. “I am really sorry, and also for avoiding you guys and not having the presence to at least let you know why I was upset. It was stupid of me.”

Since Hyejoo still refused to let her go, Yeojin stood on her tip toes, managing to make out Chaewon looking a little nervous behind Hyejoo’s shoulder.

“Chaewon, I am really sorry for the way I treated you. I just came at you instead of explaining myself properly, like a caveman. I am really sorry.”

Chaewon smiled at that, shaking her head. “It’s okay. No hard feelings, I promise.”

“Ah, I can’t take this any longer!” finally exploded Yerim, pulling Chaewon along with her and dropping the flowers. “Group hug, now!”

Hyejoo still didn’t let her go.

* * *

“Here.”

Jinsoul looked up from where she had been typing at the computer, blinking a couple of times before she could focus on Jungeun standing next to her.

She had completely forgotten that the girl was inside the house; if she had been in a horror movie, she would honestly already be dead.

The younger girl was standing over Jinsoul with a serving tray in her hand. 

She kept talking while Jinsoul gawked at her. “You look like you haven’t eaten all day and honestly, that ramen is dead. You just need to finish typing those small reports under each child’s name, right? I’ll do it.”

Jinsoul shook her head, trying to concentrate. When did Jungeun even find that tray? Wait did she cook in Jinsoul’s kitchen? Without Jinsoul noticing?

“Uhm… confidentiality-”

“I am gonna re-write everything on a google document in the order your wrote it on your notes, so all you need to do is copy and paste it on the register and whatever.”

She pulled at Jinsoul’s wrist and the girl let her, her stomach suddenly growling at the smell of fresh food. _Traitor._

“Take a seat on the couch, watch some TV, whatever you want. Tu casa es mi casa,” she said, repeating Jinsoul’s earlier words.

That did make Jinsoul smile a little, even as she accepted the tray and Jungeun sat down at her table. “Brat,” she muttered, and Jungeun grinned, not looking up at her. “It’s due on Monday, so I still have tomorrow to finish what I haven’t, so don’t work too much on it, okay? Thank you so much, I don’t,”

“I am very busy, please take a seat in the living room.”

She heard, after a few moments, the sound of feet shuffling away, and just shook her head. She wasn’t completely sure why she had suddenly decided to do her neighbour’s work for her, but…

It was just something about seeing her all tired and busy working on her stuff while all of her friends were out at Yeojin’s thing… Jungeun could relate. While her job was pretty well paid, which made it somewhat bearable, it was a little sad to see how close everyone else in her apartment was getting to each other while she couldn’t relate because she didn’t spend much time with them.

Jiwoo was obviously there, and they shared a room, but she had seen the way her and Heejin joked around with each other and stuff. She wasn’t jealous, of course.

It just made her feel lonely.

And while this was Jinsoul’s job so it made sense for her to be working on it alone, and even though Jinsoul seemed able to hang around with Haseul and Sooyoung whenever she wanted, something about her screamed loneliness.

According to Jiwoo, Jungeun did have a bit of a mom streak, so this could simply be a display of her mom tendencies, but still.

Whatever the reason, even though she had felt tired earlier, she was glad to have volunteered for this.

Especially when she went to get a glass of water an hour later and found Jinsoul asleep on the couch, glasses still on and half empty plates on the table.

She rolled her eyes at the mess, but was still fond when she carefully took the girl’s glasses off and threw the couch’s throw over her sleeping body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if i had to describe each of these ships in one sentence....
> 
> viseul: you hang up, no you hang up, no you hang up, no you  
> lipsoul: you were nice to me once a few weeks ago and ive become obsessed with you  
> 2jin: "me and heejin have the kind of relationship were we finish each other's-" "sentences" "don't interrupt me"  
> chuuves: "what are you doing? ahah you're reading a book you're sooooo funny" *twirls hair*


	10. week ten: the one with the Christmas party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 23/12**
> 
> Jiwoo and Sooyoung go to the Christmas party and 00 liners get to know each other a little better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dont even know what to say about how long it took me to upload this.
> 
> artwork by: ninjacats18 on twitter

“This is not a good idea,” muttered Jungeun, as the cab came to a halt outside a fancy building in the centre of Seoul. Even pigeons weren’t loitering around the entrance of it, like they knew that was too much money to poop on.

Jiwoo stared at the door outside, a little apprehensive. “It will be fine… there is nothing to be worried about, everything will go well.”

Her voice didn’t sound convincing even to her own ears.

Jungeun sat up, looking at her straight in the eye. “Look, Jiwoo: you don’t have to do this. A fake date is just… _weird_. If you are starting to have second thoughts, we can just fake a medical emergency and Sooyoung will believe you.”

At the mention of the older woman, the uncertainty disappeared from Jiwoo’s eyes. “No. I promised her I would do this, so I’ll do it. She’ll take care of me.”

The blonde didn’t look convinced, but at the end of the day, it was Jiwoo’s decision. So she enveloped her in a small hug, careful not to ruin her hair, dress or make-up; it had taken them a lot of pain and yells to get Jiwoo’s hair to sit down in ripples and waves like that, and Jungeun didn’t want a repeat of it so soon.

“Fine,” she finally said, shaking her head a little. “I have all of your luggage and I’ll leave it at your parent’s house. You should be getting into town latest tomorrow morning, right?”

As tradition went, they had decided to all go back home for the Christmas holidays. Since Jungeun and Jiwoo lived in the same town, the blonde had offered to take her bag home ahead of her, so that Jiwoo wouldn’t struggle so much after the party.

Jiwoo smiled brightly, sending a kiss to her friend. “I love you!”, she called out as she opened the door. “See you tomorrow, Lip!”

She watched her best friend wave away at her, before turning her attention to the main door. Then she took a deep breath and walked inside.

+++

Sooyoung didn’t think it through.

After hearing all the commotion in 6B about the Christmas holiday packing, she had thought of going ahead to the party and wait for Jiwoo there. A normal thing, right?

Apparently for everyone but Sooyoung, seen as the first word her boss said to her was, “Where is your girlfriend?”

Sooyoung _knew_ she hadn’t told anyone but Yoona, which meant the other chef must have babbled. Now if she got stood up, or if something happened, _everyone_ was going to know about it.

This is why Sooyoung preferred to keep her personal life a secret from everyone, even from herself.

Despite the thoughts swirling around in her head, she smiled at her boss. “She is running late, and told me to go ahead of her,” she explained. “She is gonna be here any minute.”

“You never tell us anything about yourself,” commented the man, smiling pleasantly, “I can’t wait to see the mysterious girlfriend. Is she chattier than you?”

 _Because it’s none of your business,_ wanted to say Sooyoung. Seriously what was up with her boss suddenly taking a deep interest in Sooyoung’s life? 

Only then she noticed the older men standing not too far from her boss and, _oh_. Of course. 

Sponsors.

He was pretending to care about his employees to make a good impression on the sponsors.

Well.

Sooyoung really wanted a new set of meat knives.

“Jiwoo is… _something_ ,” she started, trying to get as close to the truth as possible. “She is kind of a happy pill, always happy and able to find the bright side in everything.” She smiled affectionately thinking about the time she tried to make cake with Chaewon and nearly burned the whole place. 

“Oh look at you!” Her boss laughed, “You are totally smitten for her!”

Wow. Sooyoung was a better actress than she had thought herself to be.

She smiled as convincedly as possible. “Of course I am. I am totally head over the heels for that girl. Love her with all my heart.”

“Oh, excuse me.” said the man a few minutes of ridiculously corny talk later in which all Sooyoung did was gush over everything about Jiwoo.

She felt confident, already. Jiwoo hadn’t even arrived yet, and Sooyoung seemed to have charmed her boss in seconds. Perhaps she would be able to live through the party even without-

“Hey, Sooyoung!”

Spoke too soon.

Sooyoung turned around, smiling at Yoona. “Hey, you!”

Not going to lie, Yoona looked good. Her normally straight hair was curled in an elaborate chignon on top of her head, letting two little curly strands adorn the side of her face. In place of her normal jeans and shirt, she had a beautiful sleeveless opal dress, that arrived to her knees. Her normally naked face was caked in a natural looking make up.

She smiled a red lipped smile. “Did you end up coming alone?”

“No, I’m just waiting for Jiwoo to arrive,” explained Sooyoung, checking the time on her phone. “She just had to finish something before-”

“Look, Sooyoung,” interrupted the older girl. “We both know that ‘Jiwoo’ doesn’t exist. I get it, you didn’t want to come with me and made it up. It’s fine,”

True, but, “Jiwoo does exist.”, said Sooyoung, nervous. Had it been that obvious that she hadn’t wanted to go with Yoona? She thought she had been very conspicuous in fleeing the scene.

“The running away right after I asked you out was a great tip off that you didn’t want to go with me,” explained Yoona, rolling her eyes. “You don’t have to lie.”

Sooyoung made to say something, but then she frowned. “Is that why you told the boss? Because you thought I was lying?”

Yoona flinched a little at that, and had the decency of looking remorseful. “Not my finest moment. I just figured out you wouldn’t come, so it wouldn’t matter anyway. I’m sorry if,”

“Sooyoung!” called out a voice, and Sooyoung barely had time to look up before she was being hugged tightly by Jiwoo’s smaller frame.

“Ouch.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the younger girl, letting go of her. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. Lip had a bunch of stuff to get together.” she explained, then turned to face Yoona with a smile. “Hi. I’m Kim Jiwoo.”

Sooyoung had considered coming clean to Yoona, since it looked like the girl didn’t really mind the fact that Sooyoung didn’t like her.

But her face when she came face to face with _real life_ happy pill Kim Jiwoo?

Worth everything.

* * *

Having the whole house to herself was definitely something Heejin could get used to. She had got home just in time to see Jiwoo and Jungeun struggling out of the door with a bunch of packed bags - just how _much_ stuff did they need for a simple Christmas break? - and then that was it. Silence.

Heejin had never known that the apartment could be so quiet. Of course, the fact that Jinsoul, Yerim and the rest of that small gang was also gone was definitely a reason why the place was that quiet.

Her phone vibrated next to her, and she ignored it, focusing once more on the empty canvas in front of her. 

Had Jungeun been home, she would have killed Heejin for putting the canvas on the floor without any plastic: but she wasn’t, and Heejin was free.

For the first time since she left home, she felt actually free.

She knew her family was eager to see her back home, but… she couldn’t.

Her entire family was immensely talented, and everything they touched, immediately turned to gold: her father was the head of an immensely lucrative textile company; her mother was a formidable script writer; and her brother, was a pro gamer who could probably live happily ever after just with money he had made so far in his career.

Her family understood what she wanted to do, even encouraged her to follow her dreams. And despite all of that, despite all of the encouragement and happy environment she was raised in, Heejin had yet to find her big break.

She couldn’t find the artistic outlet, couldn’t find a way to ‘make it’ out.

Well, technically she could make it out by letting her parents and her brother put her on the map. But she couldn’t bring herself to do that. It felt like she was cheating, if she asked for help.

Her mother did all she did despite what her parents did. Her father never asked a dime from his parents. And her brother went pro all by himself.

She didn’t want to be the only loser who depended on everyone around her to get her work out there.

So no, she couldn’t answer her parents’ call and say that she didn’t even have a job yet, and that she ended up gifting her work to friends because no one was interested in buying from a nobody.

“Why are you still here?”

The tube in her hand burst from the strength with which Heejin grabbed it as she screamed, spraying bright red paint on the wall and on the floor.

Chaewon grimaced, watching the mess on the floor with barely concealed disappointment, before glaring at her. “Are you done screaming?”

The dark haired girl put a hand on her chest, immediately regretting it when she saw the red print it made on her shirt. “Jesus Christ, Chae! Where did you come from?!”

The blonde tip toed across the living room, careful not to step on any of the paint as she pulled a tub of pringles from the shelf. “I have been in my bedroom all day. What are you still doing here?”

“I thought you were going home for Christmas,” said Heejin, searching the living room for anything she could use to clean the paint. “I am staying here.”

At that Chaewon looked surprised, sitting down on the sofa. “Oh, same. I thought I was going to be the only one here.”

“Same.” She pressed her shirt on the wall, but instead of cleaning it, it further smeared the red paint. “Shit.”

“You need to use some water to get it out,” helpfully supplied Chaewon, eating one single pringle at a time. Heejin had long enough thought the girl to be some sort of cryptid or alien, and the way she was daintly eating one pringle at a time was definitive proof.

“You couldn’t tell me that before I ruined the wall?”

Chaewon shrug said ‘Where is the fun in that?’, and Heejin sighed, heading in the bathroom. “How come you’re staying here instead of going home?”

The blonde didn’t answer for a few moment, watching as Heejin used the same - now wet - shirt she had used before to clean the wall. The result was as succesfull as anyone with common sense could have predicted.

“My sister is at home,” she finally said, looking at the tub in deep thought. Heejin looked at her in confusion, but the other didn’t add any further information.

So she changed topic. “I’m surprised Hyejoo didn’t ask you to go on holiday with her.”

Chaewon shrugged again. “She already has Yeojin and Yerim staying at her place. Apparently Yeojin wanted to give Haseul space to spend Christmas with Vivi, and Yerim didn’t want to spend it with her father and his new girlfriend.”

“And they get to see Sunmi,” added Heejin, making the other snort.

“And they get to see Sunmi.”

Heejin glanced at the ugly red on the mark on the wall in distress. “Jungeun is so going to kill me.”

“She is,” agreed Chaewon, before shaking the tub in her direction. “Pringle?”

Well, it’s not like she should punish herself too.

* * *

“I am sorry I’m late,” whispered Jiwoo, one hand holding on Sooyoung’s arm.

The older girl shrugged, walking her towards the buffet table. “It’s okay. At the very least you’re here. Everything okay?”

Jiwoo nodded, huffing slightly. “Lip decided to help me out with my make up and clothing, and then spent the rest of the drive here berating me for agreeing to this to begin with.” She lit up again, letting go of Sooyoung’s arm for a second and taking a step back. “What do you think?”

Jiwoo looked… really good. Her red hair had started to darken in the time she had been in Seoul, now looking more wine burgundy than bright red, and was styled in curled waves on her head. Her sparse fringe was also styles in small curls that covered her forehead and her shaped eyebrows.

Her round eyes were framed by shaded warm eyeshadow, which brightened her molten dark eyes. Her naturally long eyelashes were barely curled, and revealed a soft line of black eyeliner on her top lid that wouldn’t be visible unless up close, but completed the effect of lighting up her eyes quite neatly.

Her lips, normally naked were traced with a clear lip-gloss on top of a rosy lip pencil that exalted the purple of her two-piece dress.

In other words, she was absolutely gorgeous.

All Sooyoung had done was put a little eyeliner, straighten her hair and put a black dress on. She felt suddenly under dressed.

“You look… pretty.” she said, and Jiwoo looked embarrassed.

“Is it too much? I told Jungeun it might be too much, but she didn’t listen to me and-”

“Jiwoo,” called Sooyoung, smiling in affection at her rambling. She was clearly more nervous than she let on. “You look amazing. In fact, you’re out dressing me, right now.”

At this the younger girl laughed, shaking her head. “As if. You look like a goddess in that dress, like your legs? _W-O-W_.” She turned her attention to the food, unaware of how Sooyoung was blushing next to her. “Oh, get some of the pizza, too.”

Sooyoung pointed at the plates on the corner of the table. “Get yourself some pizza.”

“You’re my girlfriend,” pouted Jiwoo, the gloss shining in the light. “What’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours.”

“Isn’t that about weddings?” she muttered, but she didn’t disagree; Jiwoo would probably end up eating all of the food herself, but it would probably look cute to anyone sitting around them. And she knew that her seat was next to Yoona and the other girl had already started to look suspicious.

“Sooyoung!”

The dark-haired girl looked up in alarm at the sudden call, and stifled a groan when she saw her boss walking towards her with a bunch of men and women in tow. Jiwoo took a step back, closer to Sooyoung.

“Oh, this must be your girlfriend, Jiwoo!” he said, amiably shaking the younger girl’s hand.

“Yes, sir. Nice to meet you!” 

Sooyoung was already impressed with how high and sweet Jiwoo could make her voice. No wonder she was a singer, with that much voice control.

The man turned to the people he was with. “In our establishment we are open to all relationship, no matter how unconventional they might be.” He explained, and Sooyoung would have laughed at the unsubtle way he was trying to market diversity to them.

“That’s so sweet,” said one of the women with him, smiling that smile liberal heterosexual women gave whenever they were around any minority - that _I Stand With You_ sort of smile. “How long have you been together?”

“A few months,” answered Sooyoung, wishing she could get out of there already. While they had practiced their responses several times with each other, Sooyoung still felt very awkward. She was a good liar, but not that much of an actress. 

Jiwoo smiled, taking Sooyoung’s hand in hers for a moment. “We met when I first moved in her complex. It was love at first sight.”

“Oh!” Said the woman, already enrupted by Jiwoo. “Tell us _everything_!”

Jiwoo let go of her hand and pretended to blush. Or she blushed. Sooyoung couldn’t be so sure. “Well, I first saw her on my way back from my first meeting with my landlord. She was climbing up the stairs with her grocery bags, and, even though I just climbed all the way down those same stairs, she was so pretty I immediately offered to help her up with them. 

And then I asked her for her number.” She paused, giggling along with the woman. “You should have seen her face. She was so flustered, but when I told her she was very pretty and I wanted to be friends, she immediately smiled, and I think that’s the second I fell in love.”

That was something along of what they had planned, but Jiwoo made it sound 100% better than the prompt Sooyoung had written down when they started planning. Sooyoung had written down stick with the facts, and technically, Jiwoo had.

The first time they had _actually_ met, Jiwoo had seen Sooyoung walking up the stairs with a bag of groceries, and had offered to help her - to which Sooyoung had tried to decline.

But Jiwoo had been persistent, and had helped her climb all six flight of stairs and up to the door. Then she had bounced back down the stairs, leaving Sooyoung with the realisation that the pretty stranger with red hair and smiling eyes had just climbed the stairs for no other reason than helping Sooyoung with groceries.

Sooyoung had almost forgotten about the ordeal.

“She’s always helping me, no matter what. She has the body of a statue and the heart of a child, and when she smiles, the whole world is happy again,” was saying Jiwoo and Sooyoung couldn’t help but stare at her a little too much, a flush working its way on her face. 

“It was love at first sight, and everyday is like I see her for the first time all over again.” 

Where had this even come from?

* * *

“Am I interrupting something?” asked Hyunjin’s face, appearing in the doorway.

Heejin and Chaewon looked up at her, innocence plastered on both their faces. 

“Oh, Hyunjin! What are you doing here?”

The dark haired girl dropped the bag she was holding on to the table, before glancing between the two of them in suspicion. “What do you mean? I live here.” The red paint spread on the wall caught her attention, and she arched an eyebrow. “Jungeun is gonna kill you.”

Heejin pouted, standing back up to survey the damage. She then moved one of the cupboard so that it was doing a poor attempt at covering the mark. “Here we go. Jungeun isn’t gonna notice it, is she?”

“Of course not,” agreed Hyunjin. A pause. “Jungeun is blind, right?”

Heejin groaned again, smacking her head on the wall. “I tried to get it off, but it just doesn’t work!”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, heading towards the sink. “Go to the bathroom and fill up a bucket with warm water,” she ordered. When the other girl just stared at her, she rolled her eyes again. “I’m trying to help you get rid of the mark. Go get the fucking bucket.”

Chaewon watched Heejin disappear in the bathroom before turning her attention to Hyunjin. “How come you aren’t going back home for the holidays?”

Hyunjin arched an eyebrow. “Why should I?”

The blonde blinked a couple of times. “It’s Christmas. Everyone goes home for Christmas, right?”

“You’re here,” pointed out Hyunjin. “Why aren’t you home?”

Chaewon smiled a little. “You’re not that good at deflecting, you know?”

Hyunjin smiled back. “I think I’m better than most.” Then she turned around to where Heejin was bringing a bucket full of water. “Here. Get another sponge and get it soaped up.” 

“Won’t that damage the wall?” asked Chaewon, as Hyunjin started running the sponge on the wall. 

“Nope. The soap and water will maybe take off some of the top coat of paint, but it won’t ruin the wall at all. And if it does, _then_ we can put a cupboard in front of it without Jungeun noticing.”

“Oh my god,” gasped Heejin, watching the water turning a soft scarlet while the white wall didn’t fade away. “Hyunjin you’re a genius!”

“It’s called street smarts,” told her the taller girl, but she was smiling slightly as she said that.

Once they were all done with the wall, Hyunjin took out the case of beer she had been carrying in the plastic bag, and pointed to the television. “My personal Christmas tradition is watch a movie and take a shot everytime a character does something stupid.”

Chaewon grabbed the case of beer from her hands, putting it down on the coffee table in front of the couch. “I take it Christmas is not the happiest time around your family?”

“Stop trying to psychoanalyze me, Park. I like drinking, I hate travelling back home and I like movies. What are you going to do about it?”

Heejin snickered, sitting on one side of the couch and patting down the spot between her and Chaewon. “It’s not our fault you’re always so damn mysterious. We are just curios, that’s all.”

Hyunjin frowned, throwing a bottle opener at Chaewon. “I’m not that mysterious.”

“Right!” guffawed Heejin. “All I know about you is that your name is Kim Hyunjin and that you are very competitive when it comes to sports.”

“She can sleep with the light on,” added Chaewon, taking a gulp of the bitter drink. “Or even if I’m watching something on my laptop. She puts her head on the pillow and she’s freaking gone.”

“She steals toothpaste and food.”

“She has a really weird sense of humour.”

“She might not have a job, even though she leaves the house daily.”

“Actually, I’ve had about 3 different jobs since I moved here,” corrected them Hyunjin, smiling into her bottle at the surprised noises from the two girls. “But other than that, well done. You know plenty about me.”

Heejin was the first to get back from the stupor of Hyunjin actually having had a steady job. The girl had never told anyone anything, not even out of joy or frustration, how was anyone supposed to know?

“We don’t know anything of substance though. For example, if you have any siblings, or something!”

“I have a brother,” answered Hyunjin. At the expressions on the girls’ faces she sighed. “Okay, I’ll tell you one thing about me, then you guys shut the fuck up and we get to enjoy a movie and a shit ton of alcohol.”

“Promise.”

“You got it!”

Hyunjin turned on the TV, setting it on JBTV. “The reason I came back with Vivi that other day is that, as it turns out, her ex husband is my older brother. Now shush,” she finished, pressing play.

“WHAT?!”

* * *

Sooyoung was busy drinking on the side of the buffet table when Jiwoo approached her again.

She puffed her cheeks at the older girl, and Sooyoung couldn’t help but smile. “Why are you making that face for?”

“You basically left me with your boss and his friends,” complained the younger girl, taking the drink from Sooyoung. “Did I do too much?”

The dark haired girl shook her head. “No, I suddenly felt really hot and I had to take a drink,” she explained. “I feel better now, though.”

Jiwoo didn’t look surprised, instead stood up to her toes, putting a hand on Sooyoung’s forehead. She frowned. “You still feel a little warm.”

Sooyoung, who had blushed at the sudden proximity, took another swing of her drink. “I’m okay, I’m-”

“Under the mistletoe,” sing sang Yoona, appearing next to Sooyoung with a smile on her face and a guy on her arm. She smiled at her partner, before smacking a kiss on his face.

Sooyoung had completely forgotten about that possibility that someone might put a mistletoe up at the party.

She was screwed. It was clear that Yoona was testing her, trying to prove that Sooyoung was lying about daring Jiwoo, and there was nothing Sooyoung could now do without appearing suspicious, unless kissing Jiwoo. And that was just -

She felt her neck being pulled down, and suddenly there was a pair of soft lips on her.

The only thing she saw before closing her eyes was a thin line of eyeliner being covered by a curled-up fringe.

Well, _fuck_.


	11. week eleven: the one on New Year's Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone know the exact protocol of how to act after kissing a friend while you were on a fake date as fake girlfriend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point im gonna stop apologising for being late with updates and just do my best to update whenever i can

“And here we are again,”

The sound of the taxi door closing behind her brought Jiwoo back to attention from where she had been staring at her phone almost in a trance.

Jungeun turned around when the other didn’t reply, suspicion immediately flooding her expression. “You’re doing it again!” she then accused, and Jiwoo looked up at her like she had just been caught.

Jungeun narrowed her eyes. “What are you hiding, Kim Jiwoo?”

Finally the red head huffed, grabbing her own bag and starting towards the door. “I am not hiding anything. Maybe you’re the one hiding something,” and with that statement she gave a very pointed look to Jungeun’s bleached hair. 

“I had blonde hair before too. I don’t know what you’re trying to imply,” she corrected, dragging her bag on the stairs.

“You bleached it again instead of letting it go brown or black like usual,” explained her best friend, easily following her up the stairs. “Which is suspicious. Is there someone you are trying to impress?”

Jungeun turned to look at her like she was an idiot. When Jiwoo just stared back, she continued to climb up the stairs, shaking her head. “Remember what Sunmi said? She might be able to get us some interviews in the New Years. My hair must be prepared, always.”

“Oh,” Jiwoo looked legitimately displeased. “I thought… Nevermind.”

The blonde looked at her from the corner of her eye, but didn’t inquire as to what Jiwoo had _thought_. Instead she focused on her expression.

On the day she had gotten back from Sooyoung’s party, she had looked fine. She had told Jungeun about how much fun it was pretending to be Sooyoung’s girlfriend and how nice everyone at the party was and how good the food was. Sooyoung had even called her to make sure that Jiwoo had gotten home safe, so it had looked like everything was fine.

Yet, the more days passed, the antsier Jiwoo became. Jungeun had asked her several times what was wrong, to no avail. She had even - do not judge her, she was worried - hacked into her best friend’s phone to see if she had received any calls or texts that might have upset her.

However, apart from a 2 minutes call from Hyunjin, and several message chains to Heejin, Yeojin, Chaewon and Yerim, there was nothing of the sort. 

Jungeun felt - no, she _knew_ \- it had something to do with Sooyoung. But she had heard their call on that day, and it had been fine. Nothing suspicious was said by either.

Once they reached the main door, Jungeun’s worry disappeared though, and she turned to Jiwoo with a smirk on her face. “Okay. Go hide up the stairs for a second.”

Her best friend looked at her in suspicion and curiosity. But it was testament to how long they had been friends that she was climbing said stairs even as she asked, “What are you planning?”

“Knowing Hyunjin like I do, and knowing that she spent the Christmas holidays here and that she doesn’t have a job, I refuse to let her know I am home. Because then she is not even gonna try and clean up the mess I _know_ it’s already inside, and instead leave it for us to deal with.”

Jiwoo lit up immediately. “Oh, what are you gonna do?”

Jungeun followed her up with her own bag, putting a finger to her lip and getting comfortable next to her. Then she pulled out her phone.

+

The first thing Jinsoul noticed when she walked towards her apartment was the plastic bags in front of 6B. The second thing was the state of Kim Hyunjin’s hair.

“Wow Hyunjin!” she commented, sidestepping the pile of trash. “Your hair!”

The girl looked up a Jinsoul, before running a finger through her hair, self conscious. “Yeah?”

Jinsoul grinned. “Hell yeah! It looks hot as fuck!”

At that Hyunjin smiled a little, bowing her head down to hide it. “Thank you, Jinsoul.”

“I told you it looked pretty!” commented Heejin, walking out with yet another trash bag. “You need to start trusting me, Kim Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin pointed an accusing finger at her roommate. “You got me drunk and tried to steal secrets from me. I am mad at you.”

“You brought the alcohol,” announced a small voice as Chaewon appeared at the bottom of the stairs, “And we told you our secrets too. It’d do us no good to spread them.”

“Plus,” added Heejin grabbing some of the bags. “It does me no good to spread _your_ secret because your secrets are trash and shouldn’t even be considered secrets. The only reason they could be considered secrets is that you’ve never told us.”

“Why would you need to know? That’s my point.”

Jinsoul unlocked the door to her apartment, but still watched them curiously. “Why do you have all this trash?”

Chaewon sighed. “My and Hyunjin’s slight sloppiness and the fact that Hyunjin bought a lot of alcohol kind of got the best of us.” When Jinsoul just stared perplexed, she smiled. “Me, Heejin, Hyunjin plus an apartment with no Jungeun plus a ton of alcohol plus easy delivery plus the television equals… a messy apartment, a lot of headaches but a very merry Christmas.” she touched her cheeks. “I wouldn’t be surprised if I was still drunk.”

“Oh no,” complained Jinsoul, taking Chaewon by surprise. “That’s awful.”

Chaewon put a hand on her heart. “I didn’t know you cared that much about me-”

“It’s not that,” Chaewon immediately pouted, but Jinsoul didn’t look at her. “I was planning a New Years Party for tomorrow night. But if you guys spent the whole of last week drinking-”

“There is always, _always_ , space for more alcohol,” claimed Hyunjin seriously, appearing up the stairs. “Trust me.” Then she turned to Chaewon. “Are we done?”

“But your liver, sweetie…” started, Jinsoul, stopping in her tracks when a bag was thrown down from up the stairs. “What the fuck? Mrs Shin?”

“Nope, just me,” grinned Jiwoo, hopping down the stairs with a grin. “And there is no way you are cancelling this party, Jinsoul. I want to celebrate New Year’s properly.”

“Where the fuck did you come from?” asked Hyunjin, staring at where Jungeun was following more carefully.

“Are we all do- Jiwoo?” Heejin stopped at the bottom of the staircase, looking in shock at the two best friends at the door. “Where the hell did you come - _no_.”

Jiwoo grinned. “Yes.”

Hyunjin wiggled an accusing finger at Jungeun. “You didn’t!”

“I did,” answered the blonde, winking at her.

“You were already here when you called us and then proceeded to watch us slave away with all the trash?!” finally exploded Chaewon. “That is so-”

“Not my trash, not my problem.” sing sang Jiwoo, before pointing at Jinsoul. “Party. I want in.”

Jungeun smiled, glad that Jiwoo looked cheery again. Then she winked at Hyunjin. “You guys are the ones who decided to turn our pretty place in a bachelor pad. May this be a lesson for next time you try to pull this again,” she finished, before waving at Jinsoul and following Jiwoo inside.

Hyunjin watched the two girls inside the apartment with a scowl on her face. But when Heejin and Chaewon high fived each other with a whispered “ _No regrets,_ ” she couldn’t help but smile a little.

* * *

“That is way more people than I expected,” was the first thing Jiwoo said once she stepped on the roof of the condo. 

It’s not that she thought Jinsoul and the rest had no friends, but… well yeah. She thought they had no friends.

In her defence, her only actual friend at the moment was Jungeun, since everyone else of her friends was living their lives back in Chongju. Her coworkers acted slightly annoyed at her open friendliness and she hadn’t really had a chance to go out and enjoy Seoul.

And since whenever she saw Jinsoul and the others they were together, she had assumed it was the same for them too, especially since they worked full time.

But the turn out at the roof party? Yeah, they either had a lot of acquaintances willing to come to a party announced a day before, or Jinsoul was more popular than Jiwoo had thought at first.

“Girls!” called out Vivi, stopping in front of them with a grin on her face. “When did you two get here?”

Unlike Jungeun, who had opted for a leather jacket and black jeans look, Vivi was sporting a pretty black lace dress accompanied by a pair of kitten hills that made her tower slightly over the both of them.

Jiwoo felt pretty naked in her sweatshirt, skirt and long socks. 

“Just yesterday, you?”

“We got back this afternoon,” explained Haseul appearing beside Vivi and putting a hand on her shoulders. “We were gonna get here earlier but we had to go get Yeojin.”

Jiwoo looked up at that. “Wasn’t Yeojin staying with Sooyoung’s family?”

“Yeah, so we went and get them before coming back here.” Haseul smiled a little. “The little gremlin tried to coerce Sooyoung in staying with her and Sunmi, but since Yerim and Hyejoo both wanted to come to this party…”

“Sooyoung stayed home?” asked Jungeun, surprised a little.

Haseul nodded. “Her parents were all over her and Sunmi because they miss them so much, and she sacrificed herself for Hyejoo’s freedom or something.”

Jungeun glanced towards her friend to see if those words had any effect on her, but Jiwoo didn’t react to them. Instead she appeared interested in what Haseul was saying. “Where are the three musketeers?”

“Just over there, where the alcohol is,” started Vivi, and Haseul immediately turned suspicious. 

“I do _not_ want to deal with my sister drunk.” she claimed, stalking towards the main table with single focus.

She managed to stop right as Yeojin was bringing a cup of punch to her lips, and snatched it right from her hand.

The younger turned to glare at the intruder, her scowl growing when she realised it was her sister. “I was trying to drink here!” she complained, wrapping her arms around her chest.

“I thought I told you to not get drunk-” started Haseul, but Yeojin interrupted her.

“It was like my second cup, can you _chill_?”

“I can attest to that,” said Yerim, winking at Haseul. “Between these three,” she explained, pointing at Yeojin, Hyejoo and Chaewon there needs to be at least one adult supervisor. Hey, Jiwoo, hey, Jungeun.”

“Aren’t I older than you?” commented Chaewon, smiling when Hyejoo giggled at that.

Yerim didn’t look impressed. “You are fun sized, so it doesn’t count.”

Chaewon growled - what? the? fuck? - but both Yeojin and Hyejoo started giggling at that.

Vivi arched an eyebrow. “One drink?”

Yerim shrugged. “She’s a lightweight.” Then she turned to Haseul again. “Where is Soul, by the way?”

“Where do you think?”

“Dance floor?”

“Dance floor.”

Yerim laughed, then frowned at Jungeun. “Hey, where did Jiwoo go?”

“What? She’s right-”

But when she turned to her side, Jiwoo was nowhere to be seen.

+

Jiwoo had, for the past few days, debated a lot whether to place or not place the call. From the moment she had gotten into the express bus to Cheongju to the right up until then, she had been debating and changing her mind about whether or not to call Sooyoung.

In retrospect, it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t something completely out of the ordinary. And maybe, it might even be a little amusing to some.

It was just a kiss.

Yoona was obviously suspicious, and the mistletoe was just _over_ them, and it felt like one of those hit or miss moment, you know? So, Jiwoo had done it.

She had kissed Sooyoung.

There had been a full second in which nothing really happened other than Jiwoo’s arms around her neck and her lips on hers, one second in which Jiwoo considered that perhaps she had stepped over the line.

But then Sooyoung had kissed her back, her softer than expected hand cupping Jiwoo’s cheek while her hair tickled her face.

She had even wrapped her other arm around Jiwoo’s waist and remained like that as they kissed.

Nothing fancy. Just something more than a peck, but not enough to count as a Kiss. At least not in Jiwoo’s mind.

And then Sooyoung had let go of her and smiled amicably, pressing another kiss on her cheek, with a small uttering of ‘cute’, before turning her attention back on the food.

And that was it.

She had called Jiwoo once she had gotten to Chongju, to thank her for coming with her to the party, and promising her a perfect meal once she got back to Seoul, but she never mentioned it. She never mentioned the kiss.

Jiwoo had only done it to sell their fake relationship, of course. There was nothing more about it.

But the fact that Sooyoung didn’t address, not to thank her for her quick thinking, nor to scold her for taking advantage, just rubbed Jiwoo wrong. 

She had been waiting for a text, for another call in which Sooyoung laughed or complained about the kiss or something. Or even to see her face to face at the party to see if their relationship was still okay at the very least.

But she wasn’t there, and now the urge to call, to explain herself was just -

“ _Hello_?”

Jiwoo looked down at her phone, to where she had been clicking and unclicking on Sooyoung’s kakaotalk profile.

Instead of Sooyoung’s profile picture greeting her, what she saw was the ‘ _call in progress’_ sign.

She had accidentally dialled Sooyoung’s number.

“ _Jiwoo? Are you there?_ ”

“Fuck,” she swore, putting the phone to her ear. “I’m so sorry, Sooyoung. I didn’t realise I called you.”

“ _God, where are you? It’s so loud!_ ”

Jiwoo walked toward the top of the stairs, closing the door slightly so that the roof party’s noises wouldn’t disturb the call too much. 

“Jinsoul’s party.”

“ _Oh yeah, the New Year’s Party. Jinsoul organised it?”_

“Yes. She has way more friends than I would have thought.”

_ “Just because she’s a teacher doesn’t mean she has no friends, you know.” _

“Oh no, my assumption was based on the fact that she spends all her time with people in the condo.”

“ _So what, do you think_ I _got no friends?_ ”

“I’d like to be excluded from this narrative.”

“ _Brat_ ,” laughed Sooyoung, and Jiwoo heard the voice of a door closing. “ _Is everyone else back already?_ ”

“Everyone but you,” she answered, trying to maintain a normal tone of voice. “Are you guys having a party too?”

“ _Kind of_. _Do you consider me, Miya, my mom and dad playing UNO with music playing in the background and copious amount of alcohol around a party?”_

“I consider that a crime, to be honest.”

Sooyoung laughed. “ _Hyejoo would too, if she knew. But,”_ and here she sighed, “ _I had to think of a way to let her out of here before her cover was blown?_ ”

“Her cover?”

“ _She still hasn’t told mom and dad about an important decision she has made, because of another decision she has yet to make. And while I think she should just tell them already, she is terrified that they’ll get mad and force her to stay here in Ulsan._ ”

“And you stayed behind so that…”

“ _They wouldn’t get too suspicious or decide to surprise visit us in Seoul, yeah._ ”

“Oh.”

“ _Oh what?”_

Jiwoo felt her cheeks turning a deep shade of red at Sooyoung’s words, and was instantly thankful that, despite the cold winter air, everyone was outside on the roof.

“I just… uh… thank you,”

“ _Thank you?_ ” Jiwoo could hear the confusion in the older girl’s voice.

“Yeah. Uh. For the party! I had a lot of fun. I know I said it already, I just wanted to say… thank you.” God, why was she like this?

“ _No problem,”_ Sooyoung was smiling, and Jiwoo felt herself smile too. “ _I never thanked you for kissing me at the party with the Yoona thing. You didn’t have to, but-”_

“I had to sell it,” answered Jiwoo, and she heard Sooyoung snorting at that.

Her smile grew larger.

“ _I still wanted to say thank you. You completely sold them with your story about our first meeting and that kiss was… a solid 8. You’re a good kisser.”_

“An 8? I take offense with that!”

“ _I mean, you were kind of breaking my neck with your hold, so I deduct 2 points._ ”

And just like that, the anxiety that had been gripping at Jiwoo’s stomach since the week before, was dissipated.

She laughed and joked with Sooyoung for a couple more minutes, lighter than she had been in a while, before finally finishing the phone call and looking for Jungeun.

She had prepared an apology and a lot of promises to get her best friend to forgive her, but she found her laughing on the floor a few metres away from the drinks table, sitting in a circle with many other people.

“Jiwoo! Join us, join us!” called Jinsoul, and Jungeun turned around, grinning brightly at her best friend.

“Chuu! I want to sit next to you~” she sang aloud and yup. She was definitely wasted.

She sat on the coat next to her friend, shivering at the cold before staring between Jungeun and everyone in the circle. “What are we playing?”

Jinsoul waved a bottle in her hand with a grin, as 10 plastic cups of lukewarm beer were handed to Jiwoo by a guy next to her. 

“It’s a game we played all the time when I was in college; it’s called ‘ _kiss, slap_ or _drink_.” She handed the bottle to a dark haired girl next to her. “Basically we spin the bottle, and whatever person it lands on, we have a choice to kiss them or slap them. If we don’t want to do either, then we have to drink this terrible cheap and disgusting rum. But,” and her eyes positively gleamed at that. “The first time you choose _drink,_ you finish one cup. The second time, two cups. And since there is ten cups, you only have four total rounds, and you’re out. Got it?”

Before Jiwoo could even ask, Jinsoul turned to the girl next to her again. “All right, Ryujin, go!”

The girl smiled brightly before spinning the bottle as fast as she could, sending it across the small circle, before it stopped in front of Heejin.

Jinsoul was vibrating when she spoke, and honestly, the blonde might be more dangerous than Jiwoo had previously given her credit for. “Kiss, slap or drink?”

“How could I possibly slap such a pretty face?” joked Ryujin and the entire circle erupted in catcalls as she crawled toward the other girl.

“It’s easy, just one easy hit,” grumbled Hyunjin from Jungeun’s other side, sending the blonde in another fit of giggles.

Heejin didn’t laugh though, eyes smiling as the other girl stopped in front of her. 

“Hi,”

Ryujin’s smile grew at the greeting, and then surged forward, pressing her lips on hers.

Heejin wasn’t a prude, far from it. But she was still a little surprised that, instead of the peck she was expecting, she felt Ryujin pulling her head towards herself, both chasing and entrapping them together. Her other hand stayed still and calm on Heejin’s leg as Ryujin applied the softest pressure on her lower lip, before lapping at it with her tongue and then, letting out.

The dark haired girl winked then, as if she didn’t just surprise the fuck out of Heejin, and returned to her post, Heejin slowly rendered aware of the game they were still playing from the various cheers and catcalls around her.

“Oh, someone is drunk in _l-o-v-e_ ,” teased Jinsoul, and Heejin blinked back to attention, forcing her eyes away from Ryujin and back into the game. 

“Never me,” she answered, and laughed at everyone’s ‘ _oh oh_ s’ before turning the bottle one more time. 

When the bottle stopped on Jiwoo, her smile turned a little more genuine. “My Jiwoo! Of course you get a smooch!” she cooed, and the red head rolled her eyes, feigning disgust.

“Am I allowed to refuse, and drink instead?”

“Do you _want_ a slap?” 

Jiwoo pouted, but couldn’t help the giggle when Heejin grabbed her cheeks and turned mock serious.

“You are the cutest thing I’ve ever seen on Earth,” declared the black-haired girl, theatrically, before smiling and plopping a chaste quick kiss on her lips. “The cutest!” she then peppered her cheeks with kisses for a good 10 seconds, before finally letting go of her.

“I feel like this is somewhat against my human rights,” she complained, then snorting amusedly when that sent Jinsoul in another fit of laughter. Oh well, seen as both her and Kim Lip had 4 cups left, that meant they were probably drunk as hell.

Her smirk only grew when her bottle stopped right in front of her best friend, who was staring at the bottle in question in suspicion.

“Lippie!” she called, and Jungeun shook a finger in her direction.

“Chuu! I was looking for you. I don’t trust you one bit, and I don’t trust the way you disappeared off me earlier on, what are you hiding, you know I’ll find out, and also we are playing a game here and you should-”

Whatever Jiwoo should have done was promptly cut off by the loud smacking sound of Jiwoo’s hand connecting with her best friend backside - she could get away with slapping her friend, but she would _not_ get away with leaving a red handprint on her pretty face.

The whole circle erupted in affronted gasps and giggles immediately, while Jungeun moaned in pain for a moment, falling forward on the floor. “You piece of _shit_! Why are you mean to me!”

Jiwoo highfived Hyunjin, not the smallest trace of regret on her face. “You would have done the exact same thing.”

A pout found it’s way on Jungeun’s face, but not a denial. Instead, she pointed at Jiwoo - or, more precisely, a point above Jiwoo’s head - with unsubtle forewarning, before grabbing the bottle too.

While she usually liked games like this, especially when she was younger, it wasn’t exactly the best place or time for Jungeun to play it. Yes, she knew some of the people in the circle - Jiwoo, Jinsoul, Chaewon, Heejin, Hyunjin, Yerim and Hyejoo - but the only person she would be willing to kiss - _maybe_ \- was Jiwoo. 

Yes, Heejin had looked calm and composed with kissing Jiwoo, and Chaewon had given Hyunjin a peck earlier too, but… no matter how much she tried, she still felt like she didn’t really _fit_ in with her roommates, yet. And the thought of kissing any of them, seemed a little… iffy.

So the entire time she had been playing, she had simply been drinking her rum, and none of the people who’s bottle ended up on her had been willing to kiss nor slap her, and the same went for her.

Until her bottle stopped, pointing directly at… Jinsoul.

“Kiss, slap or drink?” called out Jiwoo, her eyes gleaming with excitement like the little gremlin she was.

There was no way Jungeun was gonna slap her. Come on now.

She looked down at the four lined up plastic cups in front of her. Basically her last turn. If she chose drink, she would have to finish those terrible drinks and then leave the circle because _game over_.

But for the first time since they had moved there, she was having fun. 

She, who had been friends with Jiwoo since they met at elementary school, and only had her as a real friend since then, felt safe and almost comfortable in that circle, cheering, laughing and drinking with everyone.

Of course, that could be the alcohol talking. 

Apart from whatever they were having, she had been drinking some of the expensive beer that Haseul had brought, and quite a lot of eggnog. 

But still. She felt happy. She -

“15 seconds to countdown!” called out a voice, and immediately the circle dissolved, Jiwoo standing to attention.

“14,”

Heejin grabbed Jiwoo’s hand in hers and rushed towards the edge of the roof were everyone was standing, unoped fake champagne bottles in some hands.

“13,”

“Wait, where is Jungeun?” asked Jiwoo, trying to find her best friend once again.

“12,”

“Looked too drunk to go anywhere to me,” joked Chaewon, pulling Hyejoo along with her.

“11,”

“Here we come!” cheered Haseul, one beer in one hand and an almost passed out Vivi in the other.

“10,”

Yeojin squeezed in their small huddle, Yerim’s hand in hers.“Wait for me, wait for me,”

“9,”

“Has anyone seen Jinsoul?”

“8,”

“Still sitting in the circle with Jungeun I think,” answered Hyunjin, coming to stand close to the other girls.

“7,”

Jiwoo pulled her closer in. “Come on, don’t be shy now,”

“6,”

“You are _so_ touchy…”

“5,”

“We are just missing, Sooyoung, Jinsoul and Jungeun.”

“4,”

“I am gonna be romantic and say,” started Heejin.

“3,”

“I am so glad we all ended up in the same apartment.”

“2,”

Hyunjin huffed. “I am not.”

“1,”

“No one cares, come on!”

“0!”

“Big hug!”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

“Haseul, how are you _still_ standing?”

“Your alcohol has no power over me.”

“Next year will have 366 days, you know?”

“I love you guys!”

“You are _so_ drunk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u enjoyed the chapter! is there a particular brotp u guys want explored?


	12. week twelve: the one with all the awkwardness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it possible to be so awkward? no, loona, this isn't a challenge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for some reason i never realised how hard writing scenes that include all 12 of them is. i have some chapters - very random ones - already pre planned tho, don't worry.
> 
> Also I wanted to take a moment to thank all the old readers for sticking out and tollerating my very random posting schedules; i know it seems lazy and like i am not trying that hard, but honestly i am and sometimes i just have a hard time writing a particular chapter or simply schoolwork is too much. so thank you for not abandoning my work even when it seems like I have
> 
> and to the new readers, thank you for giving a chance to work in progress! there are so many loona fanfics that are better written and already finished, and you guys choosing to click on this one and reading/commenting/subscribing/leaving kudos is very much appreciated! sorry if i seem suddenly sappy, i am just very happy and gwevdeuivdeyi3ebwvdyie thank you thank you thank you

One thing that Jungeun prided herself in was that, no matter how drunk she might have been the night before, she always woke up with barely a hang over and ready to get to work. 

Seriously: she could drink herself into a blackout, and the next morning her body was like, ‘ _This was fun, now let’s get back to business._ ’

Which is why, when she woke up to the sound of moaning - and not the fun kind \- she frowned. The bed dipped and she had to suppress the urge of kicking Jiwoo in the shins, because why was _she_ awake at this time? Usually not even an army could wake her at -

She squinted next to her, immediately confused when the LED clock wasn’t positioned on the cupboard next to her. And why was the window on that side of the bedroom, the light hitting Jungeun’s face directly? Jiwoo always made sure the curtains of the room were always closed.

However, it took her turning to complain to her best friend to realise that the reason everything in the bedroom seemed messed up was that… well, she wasn’t in her bedroom.

Since she was pretty sure Jiwoo didn’t have such blonde hair and pronounced jaw.

“What the fuck?” she let out, shifting a little backwards.

Why was she in bed with Jinsoul? Why was she in _Jinsoul’_ s bed? And was she -

Yup. She was naked.

Jinsoul slowly opened her eyes at the noise, taking way longer than she should have to focus on Jungeun.

When she did tho, her eyes widened in shock and she sat up abruptly staring at her bemused. 

Jungeun pulled the duvet up to cover up her chest, memories from the night before finally coming back to her.

They had been playing that game of spin the bottle, and then, during her turn, the bottle had stopped on Jinsoul. And while everyone else had moved to do the countdown and watch the fireworks, she had started making out with the older girl.

The details after that were very fuzzy, but, from the fact that she could see her underwear on the floor, the solution seemed pretty clear cut. 

She looked up at Jinsoul, who was just staring blankly at Jungeun, like she wasn’t sure this wasn’t a dream. “Did we sleep together?”

Jinsoul’s face did a weird thing at the question and then she was scrambling off the bed. Jungeun was polite enough to look away as the girl ran out of the room, but not polite enough to not feel disgusted when she heard what could only be the sounds of Jinsoul retching in the bathroom.

Which, really? _Rude._

To be honest, Jungeun wasn’t the type of girl who slept with people she didn’t have any actual relationship with; nor was she the type to sleep with someone she barely knew, just because she was drunk.

So she didn’t really know the protocol. 

Was she meant to wait for Jinsoul there? Was she meant to make breakfast or something? Were they going to talk about it?

Since none of those options sounded the least bit appealing, she decided for grabbing her clothes and dress up again as quickly as possible. She debated whether she was supposed to do the bed too for about a second, but when she heard the lock on the bathroom opening, she dashed outside of the room as fast as possible, closing it behind her.

Walking back to her apartment was almost as hard of a decision as leaving Jinsoul’s was, since she ran the chance of Jiwoo being awake and in the mood of questioning her about the events of the night before.

Although, the idea of staying out there in the hallway and risking someone else questioning her was just as real and terrifying.

She was careful to not make too much noise as she opened the door of apartment 6B, quietly slipping in the living room.

She spotted Heejin asleep on the couch, curled into herself, but for the rest the apartment seemed to be completely enveloped in the typical silence of sleep; and for a beautiful, full, 37 seconds, Jungeun managed to delude herself into thinking that everything was okay. She had gotten away with it.

Of course, that’s when the bathroom door opened and Hyunjin stepped out.

The clock ticked to signal that it was 5.30, and Hyunjin arched an eyebrow, giving her roommate a once over. “Where are you coming from?”

Jungeun could feel her face heating up, even as she did her best to lie to the dark haired girl. “I just woke up. From my room. And, you know… shower.” She nodded to herself a couple of times. “Yup. Yeah. Shower.”

Hyunjin gave her another once over, a quizzical expression on her face. “You’re still wearing yesterday’s clothes.” she told her, like the blonde could have possibly forgotten.

She wondered, if this was what people often called the walk of shame. Could Hyunjin just look at her outfit and be able to tell she had just slept with the neighbour? Did her jeans have the words ‘ _I just fucked someone!’_ written on there?

“Drunk,” answered Jungeun, caressing her own arm. “I was so drunk yesterday that I forgot to get changed before going to sleep?”

“You? Forgot to change?” questioned Hyunjin, incredulity colouring her words. “You miss Kim ‘ _I probably put my clothes in a neat pile before having sex’_ Jungeun?”

Was the use of the word ‘sex’ an accident or did Hyunjin know and was trying to freak her out by dropping hints? Also, “Hey, I can be wild sometimes,” she said, trying to defend herself.

“Right,” laughed Hyunjin, shaking her head. “Between making sure we rinse our plates before using them - even though they are already clean - and throwing away any item of clothing that sits on the floor for more than 10 minutes, I am sure you have plenty of time to go absolutely apeshit.”

Jungeun made to answer, but she was promptly interrupted.

“Please can you both shut the fuck up?” groaned Heejin, not opening her eyes. She pulled her blanket further up. “I’m trying to _sleep_.”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything else, walking towards the kitchen. She was still in her bathroom robe, and her hair was wrapped in a wet towel on her head.

She looked at Jungeun, like expecting her to say something about the situation.

The blonde huffed, instead walking and locking the bathroom door behind her.

She was okay. Hyunjin didn’t know, and Heejin hadn’t even looked at her. She had survived, and now all she needed was wash away any evidence of the night before.

Then she groaned, hitting her head on the door.

She had left her towel in her and Jiwoo’s bedroom.

Why did life _hate_ her so much?

* * *

There was no doubt that Jungeun was hiding something; however, unlike Chaewon and Heejin, there was no single part of Hyunjin’s body that cared enough to investigate what could possibly be happening.

Once she was dressed and groomed and everyone had started to wake up, she finally left the apartment, going down two steps at a time.

However, before she could go and bang at Yeojin’s door, she noticed another familiar figure there. She watched her politely ring the 5B doorbell, a nervous expression on her face and a familiar jacket hanging in her hands.

“ _Hyunjin please spare me, please don’t do this to me, please,_ ” started Yeojin, even before the door was fully open. “Let me _sleep_ and-”

“I’m not Hyunjin,” said the girl in front of the door, amused. “You okay, Yeo?”

Yeojin opened her eyes, both relieved and confused when she noted who _was_ at her door that early in the morning. “Ryujin. Hey. What are you doing here?”

Ryujin shook the jacket in her arms, a small smile on her face. “I wanted to give this back to Heejin, and thank her for it. Is she in?”

“Wrong apartment,” announced Hyunjin, choosing that moment to step down from the last flight of stairs. She stretched out her hands. “I’ll give it to her.”

Ryujin didn’t hand over the clothing. “Really? I could have sworn this is where she said she lived?”

The older girl rolled her eyes. “Either Heejin intentionally lied to you, or she said 6B and you heard 5B. We live upstairs,” she explained, shrugging.

The other lit up. “Oh, of course.” She smiled, taking a step back. “I’ll go and give-”

“No,” interrupted her Hyunjin, taking a step back too. 

Ryujin frowned. “Uh… why not?”

Hyunjin forced her expression to appear blank. “Because she is sleeping right now, and so is half the apartment. It’d be better if you don’t go up there and ring the doorbell now.”

“Oh,” said the younger, her face crumbling. “It is pretty early. I was doing my morning run and thought -” she shook her head, a smile coming back to her face. “I’ll come by later and give it to her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Hyunjin, sighing. “That’s double the work. I can go and leave it at the apartment for when she wakes up.”

Ryujin didn’t appear convinced. “Aren’t you just about to go out running?” she questioned, looking at her outfit.

“No,” lied Hyunjin. “I was just doing some cardio and I came by to ask Yeojin here if she had some sugar.”

Yeojin frowned at these words, but didn’t say anything more; simply observing the two girls in front of her. It was like watching a particularly interesting tennis match.

Ryujin sighed. “I just wanted to thank her for it and-”

“I’ll let her know,” interrupted her Hyunjin. “That it was nice of her and that you are really thankful.” She raised an eyebrow. “Anything else?”

The younger girl seemed to consider it for a moment, then shook her head. “No. Thank you, Hyunjin.”

Finally, the dark haired girl smiled, as she took the jacket. Even though her smile didn’t look very sincere, at least in Yeojin’s opinion.

The younger girl waited until Ryujin was out of hearing range before turning to her friend. “What was that?”

Was it the lighting in the hallways or were Hyunjin’s cheeks a little red? “What was what?”

“I thought you liked Ryujin. But you just-”

“Get your shoes ready,” interrupted the taller girl, heading back upstairs with the jacket. “We are going off running in a minute.”

“I thought you wanted sugar! You said you just exercised!”

“And Hitler said he wouldn’t invade Poland; people lie, Yeojin.”

* * *

Whatever the actual reason she had stayed behind, Sooyoung was a little bittersweet and sad when she arrived back at her apartment complex.

Spending Christmas, New Years and part of the holidays with her family had been 100 times better than she had initially thought. Sure, they had missed Hyejoo, but between her, Sunmi and a lot of alcohol, the entire thing had gone swimmingly.

The only hiccup had been when her parents had asked her if she was seeing someone, but Sooyoung thought she had handled it perfectly. And -

“Soul?”

Jinsoul jumped, looking around like she had been caught doing something particularly nefarious and not pacing around the hallway looking all kind of lost.

She calmed down once she realised it was Sooyoung and smiled. “Sooyoung! I didn’t even see you there?”

Her best friend watched her as she helped her with the bags, immediately suspicious. “What were you doing in the hallway?”

“What are you, a cop?” shot the blonde, opening the door to the Son apartment before the other could say anything.

Sooyoung followed her, eyes narrowed. “You’re acting weird. Did something happened?” She nodded at her sister and Yerim sitting in the living room. “Hey girls.”

Jinsoul didn’t answer, leaving Sooyoung’s bag in front of her bedroom.

Yerim though turned around, ignoring Hyejoo’s complains. “She has been acting weird as hell for days now, ever since her party. And she won’t-”

“Well, that’s enough from you,” interrupted Jinsoul, glaring at her cousin.

Yerim just stuck her tongue out, before turning her attention back on her friend. Sooyoung turned to Jinsoul, an eyebrow arched. “So…?”

“You’ve been here for like one minute,” complained her best friend, a pout finding its way on her lips. “Haven’t even asked me how I am and instead you’re being suspicious of every breath I take. Honestly,” she sat down on the chair, grabbing an apple from the bowl in the middle of the table. “I deserve better.”

“What did Jinsoul do, now?” asked Haseul, walking inside the apartment. She lit up when she saw Sooyoung, smiling. “Hey, Soo! When did you get back?”

Sooyoung hugged her friend, smiling too. “Literally seconds ago,” she let go, eyes turning mischievious. “How was your Christmas?”

Haseul gave a quick look to check that Yerim and Hyejoo weren’t listening before turning back to her. “God, it was amazing. It was just like 5 days, but it was the definition of Heaven on Earth. We spent so much time together,”

“Inside the sheets,” whispered Sooyoung, and Haseul giggled.

Jinsoul seemed to grow flustered at that. “God, why does your mind immediately go to the gutter?”

Sooyoung’s eyes narrowed again, while Haseul winked at her. “Oh she’s right. We had sex.” She got closer to the blonde. “A _lot_ of it.”

“Gross,” complained Jinsoul, but now she had started to relax.

Instead she focused on her best friends as they traded stories about their Christmas break, contribuiting when it was her turn.

But she couldn’t fully relax. In all their 9 years of knowing each other, Jinsoul had never lied to them, or even kept anything from either of them.

Even when Sooyoung had begged her to keep their relationship a secret from Haseul, she had been unable to; it was just something that was natural to her. She couldn’t simply _hide_ something, from either of them.

But this? She wasn’t sure how to handle the entire situation.

Jungeun was her _neighbour_ , and they barely knew each other at that. Jinsoul wasn’t sure she was _allowed_ to go around telling people that they had slept together. If they had, in fact, slept together.

She had been so drunk on New Year’s Eve. She had no recollection of half of the party, and she definitely had been more than a little surprised when she woke up in the morning and found her sleeping in her bed, naked.

Not that Jungeun was ugly. Au contrarie, Jinsoul had no embarrassment in admitting she found the girl drop dead gorgeous. 

Even though she acted in such a prim manner, the few times they saw each other in the laundry room, she was nice to Jinsoul. And that day, a few weeks ago, when she had made Jinsoul lunch? Wife material, honestly.

But actually _knowing_ the girl? That wasn’t a claim Jinsoul would have been able to make.

And she had tried to talk to her, after that night together. But by the time she had made it out of the bathroom, the girl was gone. And since then, she hadn’t seen her anywhere. She had considered going to speak to her, but, after seeing Jiwoo instead of her in the laundry room the past wednesday, it had been clear Jungeun was actively avoiding her.

“Sooyoung, hey,” called a voice and did thinking about her summon her, somehow?

Jungeun smiled at the dark haired, Jiwoo behind her. “I thought I heard someone.”

Her smile froze for a moment when her eye fell on Jinsoul, but she was quick to get it back. “How was it?”

“So much fun, you have no idea,” said the other girl, eyes twinkling a little. Then she smiled at the girl beside the blonde. “Hey, Jiwoo.”

The red haired smiled back, though her eyes weren’t focused on Sooyoung’s face. “Did you cut your hair?”

Sooyoung’s face lit up like she had been waiting for that the whole time. “ _Thank you_ for noticing! I did!” She ran a finger through it, and now that she looked properly, Jinsoul could notice that it barely came to her shoulders.

“How could I not notice!” answered Jiwoo, eyes widening. “It makes your face look so much brighter-” she cut herself suddenly, cheeks turning a little red.

Jungeun turned to look at her friend with a frown, while Sooyoung moved a strand of hair behind her ear, looking down. “Oh. Thank you,”

Now it was Jinsoul’s turn to look at her with suspicion in her eyes.

Haseul made quick eye contact with Jinsoul, before faux glaring at Sooyoung. “I did notice, but I didn’t want to validate your hair thievery.” she told her, and that snapped the girl to attention.

“My hair is _completely_ different from yours!”

“But isn’t it interesting how I cut my hair and suddenly you, who always claim to love long hair, went snip snip on yourself?”

“Technically,” interrupted Jinsoul, crossing her arms. “I was the one who cut your hair.”

Haseul waved a threatening finger in her face. “And I still haven’t forgiven you for it.”

“You just said-”

Jiwoo smiled a little, watching as they suddenly went from grown ups talking about their trip and holidays to a bunch of third graders complaining about each other.

“You’re acting weird again,” whispered Jungeun, and the red haired girl shot a glare at her best friend. “Why?”

“Can you stop trying to psychoanalyze me? Ever since you found Chaewon’s book you’ve been insufferable.”

“You’re insufferable,” muttered Jungeun, but there was no heat on it, and Jiwoo knew it.

She put a hand on her best friend’s shoulder and cleared her throat, amused when the three girls in front of her stopped arguing with each other and looked up like confused puppies. “We got Sunmi's message…” she explained, and Sooyoung rolled her eyes a little.

“I told her I was not going to forget,” she complained, taking her phone out from her pocket. “Here is the number.”

“I heard Sunmi's name and I came as fast as I could,” said Heejin, walking through the door with Chaewon in tow. She pouted. “She isn’t here,”

“Interesting how you answer to Sunmi's name faster than you do to your own,” commented Jungeun, amused.

“Sunmi has a friend who works as a scouting agent and she has arranged for me and Jungeun to send her a tape of our singing,” explained Jiwoo, barely contained excitement.

“That’s huge,” Heejin looked proud. “I’m gonna be friends with two amazing singers!”

Jungeun’s smile became more sincere at this. “I am sure your opportunity is also just around the corner. Chin up, Hekkie.”

“Hekkie?” 

The blonde shrugged. “You look a little like a bunny, in my opinion.”

Heejin smile grew, and she hugged her tightly. “Thank you!”

Sooyoung smiled. “I saw you guys’ tapes. You are seriously really talented, your voices are insane.” she told them, and Jiwoo blushed again.

“And speaking of opportunities,” added Haseul, focusing on Heejin. “You are an artist, aren’t you?

The girl lit up. “Yes, of course I will paint you and Vivi’s wedding portrait! You don’t even need to ask!” she said, and Haseul nearly fell off the chair.

“No!” she managed to croak, entire face aflame while her ‘friends’ laughed their heads off all around her. “God, I’m not getting married to Vivi!”

“Not yet,” whispered Sooyoung, winking at the younger girls before diving off the chair to avoid being hit by Haseul.

“Anyway,” said Haseul, clearing her throat. “I _was_ gonna tell you that my manager has an open position for an assistant in Jewerly designing, and I told her I knew someone who might be interested in the position. So, if you want-”

Her words were cut abruptly when Heejin leaped and crashed into her, enveloping her in a hug that was way tighter than Haseul would have expected. 

Heejin hid her face as best as she could in Haseul’s short bob, her words coming out slightly muffled. “Holy shit, Haseul.”

The older girl looked a little confused for a moment, then her expression melted. She hugged Heejin back, patting her slightly. “Should I tell them you’ll come for an interview?”

“If you weren’t married to Vivi, I would legit kiss you right now.”

“I am _not_ married!”

* * *

“Jungeun.”

To say that Jinsoul was surprised, was an understatement.

When she had heard the doorbell ringing, less than 5 minutes after Yerim had left for work, she had been slightly confused.

There was an interesting factoid somewhere about how millenials don’t open doors when they aren’t expecting anyone, and Jinsoul could relate to that.

The only people who would usually come to her place, all had keys. And the few ones who didn’t, were more likely to shout her name from outside rather than ring the doorbell; or even send her a text message saying they were outside.

However she was slightly curios, which is why she peeked out from the peephole. And then rushed to open the door because her eyes must have been playing a trick on her.

Why would Kim Jungeun from 3B -?

“Hey,” said the other blonde, looking slightly nervous in the doorway. 

“Jungeun,” repeated Jinsoul. Then she blinked, taking a step backwards. “Uh, sorry. Come in.”

The younger girl carefully stepped inside, looking anywhere but at Jinsoul in front of her. 

And Jinsoul could relate. Why would the younger girl be suddenly standing at the doorway after days of very obviously avoiding her. Unless -?

“I didn’t tell anyone,” she blurted out, immediately. Jungeun looked up in surprise and she clarified. “About uh… New Years Eve. I didn’t tell. Anyone.”

“Oh,” said Jungeun and ??? Did she perhaps _want_ Jinsoul to tell someone? Why wasn’t she talking properly? Jinsoul was very confused.

“I haven’t. Either.” She shook her head, her cheeks suddenly pinking. “I think I left my jacket here…?”

She had. Jinsoul had thought of bringing it back to her but between the awkwardness and the not knowing exactly where they stood, she had resorted to hiding it in her bedroom.

“Yeah, I found it. It’s right here,” she said, and Jungeun followed after her as they headed in Jinsoul’s bedroom.

Jinsoul considered for a moment apologising about the state of the bedroom, but, seen as - whether she remembered it or not - Jungeun had already seen it, she refrained. Instead, she focused on opening her wardrobe, quickly finding the hanged jacket, conscious of the way Jungeun’s eyes were basically burning holes in the back of her head.

She couldn’t know that Jungeun was staring at her to avoid looking at the very familiar bed, of course, and couldn’t stop her brain from clicking the panic button. 

“I barely remember anything from the day anyway,” she confessed, handing the jacket and hanger both the shorter girl. “Which is better for me and you both, I guess, ahah. Since I can’t really tell anyone if I don’t even remember what I’m supposed to be telling. For all I know we didn’t even do anything and just fell asleep while accidentally taking all of our clothes off. Or perhaps we were both so bad at the kissing and the sex that our brains decided to erase it from our minds. That could be it; the sex - _if_ there was any - was awful and my brain is doing me a solid by-”

Jungeun kissed her.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have already promised myself that i was not gonna write too explicit smut for heejin age or under, but for the rest of them: do y'all want me to write some sex scenes, and would u want just softly/barely there, or some actually hot scenes better described?
> 
> also u know how animes always have some particular episodes that ALL of them have? like beach episode, the school fair episodes, etc.? is there any particular trope yall would want me to write about? While I normally don't go over 4k words per chapter, if you guys wanted me to write about a trip they take, or something and write a way longer chapter! your comments do shape the way and the direction the piece takes, so don't be shy, tell me everything!


	13. week thirteen: the one with the interviews

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what the title says

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i never realised how hard trying to focus one story on 12 different characters was... so enjoy this for now lipsoul and chuuves fans cause soon i'll switch focus again

After spending three months painting/drawing at home and working as a receptionist at the hotel down the road, Heejin had forgotten how hard and nerve wracking getting ready for an interview was.

She had spent nearly a whole hour going through the different outfits Vivi and Chaewon had helped her pick the night before. She had actually gone to sleep all right, knowing all she had to do was pick whichever of the outfits she liked more; however, the moment she had woken up and showered, every single one of the choices had looked like the worst combination she had ever seen in her life.

She had been immensely glad when Jungeun had walked inside - with a strangely guilty and embarrassed blush on her face when she had spotted Heejin awake - harassing the girl into helping her choose an outfit that would help her make the best first impression.

Which had, of course, dissolved into Jungeun scolding her for thinking an outfit could give her a job, before finally settling on an almost austere black turtleneck and a brown button flare up skirt.

Then she had proceeded to mess up Heejin’s carefully straightened hair because, “You have to _look_ like an actual artist if you want them to think you are one and hire you.”

“I _am_ an actual artist!”

“That’s the spirit!”

Half an hour later she was standing on the road across from the office where her interview would take place, hands sweating by how hard she was holding her project bag and her phone.

Because _of course_ she had managed to arrive at the place one hour before she was supposed to.

Her family had always instilled in her the importance of arriving early everywhere she went. They said that it showcased great time management as well as showed people that she was reliable and someone who took things seriously.

Now, standing there, she didn’t feel like someone who took things seriously. She just felt like she was _desperate._ Which she _was_ , don’t misunderstand her. But she didn’t want the whole place to know and-

“Heejin! I thought I saw you there!” 

Heejin looked up from where she was staring at her phone, and a small smile appeared on her lips when she spotted the person who had spoken.

“Hey!”

Ryujin took in her outfit and the bag she was holding and arched an eyebrow. “Interview?”

The other girl nodded, shrugging a little. “I’m kind of early, though, so I’m just,” she made a vague gesture with her hand to indicate waiting.

The other girl bit her lip for a moment, then she grinned. “Why don’t you come inside? There are no people around this early in the year, so you can just stay until you have to go to your interview?”

Only then Heejin realised she had been standing with her back to the coffee shop. And that Ryujin was wearing a small brown apron on her waist, as well as a cream shirt with a ribbon tied on the collar. Of course, Heejin and Ryujin weren’t best friends, but that was most definitely not her style.

Wait, if Ryujin worked there and Heejin had been waiting for ten minutes already –

The girl grinned, like she could read Heejin’s train of thoughts. “Yes, I was watching you standing there with your back to the shop for almost ten minutes before I decided to take pity on you.” She told her, and Heejin let out a mortified noise. Ryujin’s grin grew, and she reopened the door of the shop. “Come on, get in.”

Heejin did, but she felt the need to explain herself. “I didn’t realise how early I was, and it was kind of stupid to go all the way to the apartment and back.”

“Don’t worry,” answered the other girl, returning behind the counter. “I’m usually early everywhere too.” A smile. “Although _I_ tend to check around for somewhere to relax while I wait to go inside.”

When Heejin pouted, Ryujin laughed again, eyes crinkling slightly. “Do you want anything to drink while waiting?”

Heejin took a moment to observe the place she was in. She had initially assumed it to be a coffee shop, but it wasn’t just that. There was a display, at the counter, containing several types of mochi and cakes. The scent of green tea that was always around Ryujin every time they saw each other had clearly seeped into the girl from continue exposure to this place.

There were some other displays behind the counter, containing even more koran pastries, while the chalk menu on top of the wall informed her of every type of herbal tea they could provide for her, as well as a small challenge.

Finally, she focused back on Ryujin, arching an eyebrow. “ _If you don’t know what to order, allow our staff to create the best snack meal for only 7500 won_ ,” she read, and tilted her head to the side.

Ryujin smirked at that, before beckoning Heejin closer to the counter. When she stopped, Ryujin gazed at her thoughtfully, eyes boring into her with a strange intensity.

It made the other girl blush, but the barista didn’t even blink for about 8 seconds, before smiling. “Okay, got it.”

Heejin swallowed, hand automatically going to her cheek. “Do you do this to all of your customers who ask you to make them a drink?”

Ryujin looked over her shoulder at her and snorted. “Only the cute ones,” she answered, and Heejin felt her face blushing even more as she sat back down at the table.

She was glad that there were only two other people in the shop, and neither of them seemed to be paying attention to them.

She didn’t say anything else for a while, surreptiously watching as Ryujin mixed and warmed stuff without letting her see what she was doing. 

“Here,” finally said Ryujin, about three minutes later. She placed a plate with two mochi treats on it, as well as a steaming cup of tea. “Ichigo daifuku and hina mochi served warm with a cup of minted raspberry hibiscus tea in boricha tea.”

Heejin looked at the cup in distrust. “I don’t really like raspberry,” she admitted, cutting into the cakes with a fork.

The barista didn’t look fazed by the confession. “You’ll like my tea,” she assured her, and again Heejin looked at the drink in distrust before biting into the ichigo daifuku.

Her eyes widened in almost shock, the sweet strawberry flavour immediately taking over her palate. “Oh my god,” she let out covering her mouth as she bit into it. “This is gorgeous! Compliments to the chef!”

Ryujin looked pleased, pointing at the drink. “Now try that one.”

It was only because the pastry was so good that Heejin tempted fate and her unwavering distrust of everything raspberry. She schooled her expression as neutrally as possible, to avoid making Ryujin upset, and took a sip of the drink.

_ Oh _ .

Her eyes widened again as she swallowed down the surprisingly cold beverage, the tingly of the mint the only leftover from the name Ryujin had given her.

It didn’t taste like any of the ingredients the barista had mentioned. It was like a whole new flavour that was fresh, and sweet, and _definitely_ not raspberry.

Ryujin was staring at her, smugness radiating from every inch of her body, but Heejin couldn’t fault her. 

“Are you a witch?”

The girl just laughed finally returning behind the counter, while Heejin continued eating and drinking. Whatever Ryujin had done with the food and the tea, she had just made a new very faithful customer of Jeon Heejin.

+

The restaurant named in the e-mail was a little more fancy than Jiwoo had expected. She had seen it, in passing, and there was something strangely familiar about the name of it, but she had never actually stepped inside it.

“Kim Jiwoo.” she said to the maître, the moment she walked in, glancing around herself a little nervous. “There should be a reservation for me under the name Bae Yoonjung.” she explained, fixing the bag on her shoulder.

The maître nodded, checking the tablet in his hands. Then, with a smile, she moved aside. “She’s expecting you.” 

Jiwoo followed her, still a little nervous until she reached the table where the woman was sitting. 

She had, of course, done some research on Bae Yoonjung before coming to the meeting. She knew that she was a renowned choreographer, more into dancing than she was singing. She was also a big time recruiter for many different agencies.

“Bae Yoonjung,” she greeted, and her handshake was very solid. “You’re just on time.”

“I’m Kim Jiwoo. Nice to meet you,” she answered, hoping her hand wasn’t shaking.

She was very much an extroverted person, but there was something almost lethal about the woman in front of her. About the entire situation, to be quite honest.

Because, as she sat down in front of Yoonjung, their chairs facing each other, she could only come to the conclusion she had been worried about but never been comfortable admitting, ever since receiving that e-mail.

It was just her.

Jungeun hadn’t been invited.

“Have you ever been to this restaurant, before?” asked Yoonjung, and Jiwoo managed to shake her head, a feeling of uncomfortable dread and regret piling into her chest.

“Me and Kim Li- Jungeun, my friend who sent the audio with me, both moved here just a couple of months ago. We don’t usually frequent this area of Seoul.” 

If Jiwoo had expected her words to be subtle, she was very mistaken. 

Yoonjung smiled a little, but it wasn’t exactly friendly. “Oh, yes. I saw that you two sent the audio together. However, Jiwoo,” she pressed her lips together. “In this sector, in this _world_ … we don’t have the time or the place to be selfless. I understand that she is your friend and that she is important to you, but, at the same time, she is your enemy. Hell,” she laughed. “Even _I_ am your enemy. It’s not a industry for _friends_.”

The red head pressed her own lips together, to avoid licking off the lipstick. “I understand, of course I understand. It’s just that I’m used to it being the two of us.” She moved a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s the first time I do something like this alone.”

Yoonjung’s expression turned a little bit more understanding. “Well, from the way Kahi was going on and on about you, it is clear you will have to get used to it.”

It was a very cheap shot at her best friend, and Jiwoo tried to smile, ignoring the way the pride at having her talent recognised burned against the comment’s meaning about Jungeun. 

“Thank you.”

“Normally,” continued Yoonjung, “I wouldn’t be the one meeting you; one of my colleagues would sit down with you and have a chat to get to know you a little bit better and all. But apparently it was Sunmi who discovered you, and got you in contact with us.” The red haired girl wondered if this was Yoonjung’s way of saying that she thought Jiwoo was cheating, but the woman continued talking. “And your voice was so good, Kahi thought it was silly to have you wait to come in for a proper audition. So here I am.”

“Should I be nervous?” wondered Jiwoo, hoping to break the tension a little bit.

Yoonjung’s smile turned more real, and she gave a little laugh. “I don’t think so. I am usually a pretty good judge of character, and Kahi is a good judge of talent. No way a cute face with angelic vocals like yours isn’t exactly what we need.”

They continued chatting for a little while longer, until the waitress arrived at their table, ready to take their order. Jiwoo didn’t look up immediately, which was why her blood ran cold the moment someone called her name, in surprise. 

“Jiwoo?”

The girl looked up to see a woman in her late 20s, with thick black hair in a high ponytail. A woman that she recognised, since she had just seen her a couple of weeks ago.

“Solbin, hey,” she managed, her heart hammering in her chest. She glanced at Yoonjung who was looking between the two of them with a frown. “This is Solbin, she…”

Perhaps she said it because she didn’t want Yoonjung to think she was lying, even though she _really_ wasn’t lying. 

Perhaps she said it because she didn’t want Solbin to realise that Sooyoung had been lying to them, back at the Christmas party.

Perhaps she said it because she was simply very stupid and decided to make her own life much more complicated than it needed to be.

Whatever the reason, her mouth opened.

“She works with my girlfriend.”

+

Sooyoung was not exactly surprised to find Jiwoo standing at the door of the restaurant when she finally left work.

When Solbin had come by to pick up a meal for a table and told her that her girlfriend was actually there with another woman, Sooyoung had nearly had a heart attack. Even when Solbin had explained that the girl was there on an interview, her heart had refused to pause, even as her mind worked hard to find an explanation as to _why_ she hadn’t known her “girlfriend” was there at her restaurant.

She had managed something about keeping work life and personal life separate and that Jiwoo probably hadn’t even know where the other woman was taking her before Solbin had had to rush to another table.

The moment Jiwoo saw her approaching, the girl put both hands over her head in a supplicating manner, rubbing her palms together. “I’m so _so_ so sorry, Sooyoung! I had no idea she was bringing me to your restaurant, I don’t even _know_ the name of your restaurant, and I panicked and I should have asked you or something but I didn’t know what to do, and I just-”

“Jiwoo,” interrupted her the older girl, surprised by her vehemence. She took the younger girl’s hands in hers, waiting until Jiwoo looked up at her, eyes a little hidden behind her fringe. “It’s fine.”

The younger girl frowned a little, staring up Sooyoung with worry lines on her face. “It’s… _fine_?”

Sooyoung shrugged. “I pulled you into this, it’s kind of my fault. I should have at the very least told you the name of my restaurant before this whole thing started.” 

When she finally let go of Jiwoo’s hands, the younger girl blinked a couple of times then slid down on the ground. “Oh thank god.”

The older girl laughed a little, before sitting down next to her. “Did you _really_ think I was going to be mad at you over _this_?” she scoffed lightly. “If it wasn’t for me to begin with, you wouldn’t even be in this situation. It’s my fault.”

“Not your fault,” sighed Jiwoo. “I accepted it, didn’t I?”

“It kind of still _is_ my-”

“Sooyoung,” said Jiwoo, her tone of voice firm. “ _Not_. I’m not mad. You’re not mad. We’re okay.”

The older girl pressed her lips together, even though she wanted to argue that it _was_ her fault. But the expression on Jiwoo’s face had gone from worried to desolate, and something told her that the previous vehemence and general nervous edge accompanying the girl’s voice didn’t have _everything_ to do with Sooyoung.

She wanted to take her hand in hers and ask her what was going on, the same way she always did with Haseul and Jinsoul. But her hands were still somewhat tingling from where she had grabbed Jiwoo’s earlier and she did not particularly enjoy the way her body and her heart had started reacting to the younger girl.

So she kept her hands in her own lap even as she spoke. “Is everything okay?”

Jiwoo sighed lightly, pulling her knees closer to her chest before resting her forearms on them. “Yeah. More or less.”

Sooyoung allowed another moment of silence between them before she spoke again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

When Jiwoo looked back at her, her expression was so raw that Sooyoung almost had to look away. But she didn’t, instead keeping her gaze fixed on her, trying to look as open and trustworthy as possible.

“The interview I was having inside,” she started, hands clenching around the material of her shirt. “Was because of the audition tapes me and Jungeun sent to the contact Sunmi gave you.

“When I got the e-mail, asking me to meet with them at this address, a few days ago? I was on the moon. I was so happy, thinking that I had finally found my big opening and that I had my chance to break into the industry, that because it was Sunmi's name helping me out,” she grimaced a little, “I was going to go in the big leagues.

“I was so _happy_. Until I realised that it was just me they wanted to see.”

_ Oh _ .

Jiwoo saw the understanding dawning in Sooyoung’s face, and her voice became a little more frantic. “You understand? Jungeun is my _best_ friend. We have known each other basically since we were in diapers. She had been my rock for our entire life, from before, now and, honestly?, in the future too.

“Everything I have ever done, every choice I have ever made, we made it _together._ We did it _together_. Jungeun could have come up to Seoul earlier, had she wanted to. But she waited for me to be ready, we put our money together to rent the apartment, to buy the tickets, for _everything_.

“You know how there is that theory that there are tons of alternate universes and that we create more every time we make a decision?” Sooyoung nodded, and Jiwoo continued. “There is only one universe in which Jungeun and I aren’t friends, because we made the decision to be friends and stick together once, when we were children, and never changed our minds.

“And now I don’t know what to do. How can I accept, how can I join this company when they seem to have decided that Jungeun isn’t _good enough_ for them? _I_ am always good enough for Jungeun. She always chose _me_ , I always chose _her,_ we always chose each other over anything else, and now? I don’t know what to do.”

The younger girl, threw her head on her arms, letting out a little sob that had Sooyoung’s heart _hurting_ in her chest. Because she wanted to hold her, console her, tell her everything would be all right, tell her what she _wanted_ to hear. Make the choice for her.

But Sooyoung was a practical woman, and she knew the real answer. She knew that the answer Jiwoo deserved and the answer she wanted weren’t the same. 

She put a hand on the girl’s head, ignoring the way her hair felt in her fingers. “Jiwoo… Remember what I told you, the other time?” She waited until Jiwoo gave a little nod before talking again. “The kitchen can be cutthroat sometimes, especially when Yoona and I are both in the kitchen with two very different approaches for the same result.

“But the music world is a worse environment. Chances like this… they don’t come easy. Chances like this… you can’t let them escape you.”

Jiwoo let out a sob, and this time Sooyoung didn’t stop herself from wrapping both arms around the younger girl, pressing Jiwoo’s face in her neck to protect her from curious onlookers. They probably made a weird picture: two smartly dressed women sitting on the ground in front of a closed restaurant.

“If Jungeun is half the friend you describe her as, if she loves you an inch of what you love her, she won’t resent you. From what _I_ know about her - and I’m the first to admit that it’s not very much \- she would resent you more if you chose to not take this chance. If you gave up on coming closer to achieve your dreams just because someone said that you had to do it alone.”

Jiwoo looked up at her, tears still in her eyes, and a sad expression on her face. 

“She’s my _best friend._ ”

It was a complete 180 ** ° ** from the smiley happy Jiwoo that Sooyoung was used to.

~~ But she was 100% as pretty. ~~ ~~ ~~

“Exactly. She’s your _best friend_.”

Jiwoo hid her face in Sooyoung’s neck again.

The older girl didn’t say anything, and kept caressing her hair.

* * *

“I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m _coming_!” shouted Jungeun, bursting out of the bedroom with the hair brush still in her hair.

She grabbed the landline, putting it on speaker voice as she brushed her hair.

“You’ve reached the Kim - Jeon - Park residence, this is Kim Jungeun speaking!” she called out, repeating the greeting she had forced the other four girls to memorise. The other four girl who were very suspiciously absent from the house.

“ _Is this Kim Jiwoo’s residence? Is she available?_ ” 

“She isn’t here right now. I can take a message for her, if you’d like.”

“ _May I ask what you are, in relation to Kim Jiwoo?”_

Jungeun pulled out pen and paper as she spoke, hair finally fixed in a ponytail. “Yeah, I’m her best friend and roommate.”

“ _Could you tell her to call us back at our number? It’s regarding the interview.”_

The pen in Jungeun’s hand fell on the floor. She blinked, staring at the phone. “I’m sorry -?”

She heard the main door opening, as the voice continued. “ _It’s regarding her interview this afternoon with Bae Yoonjung. It has been succefull, and we would like to discuss with her some further details -_ ”

Jungeun wasn’t listening anymore, staring instead at where Jiwoo had appeared, staring between Jungeun and the phone with a slightly horrified expression on her face. 

Her eyes were red and puffy, like she had just finished crying, and it looked like the tears were starting to refill her eyes.

“She just got home. You should speak to her instead,” she said, her voice coming out of her mouth without her permission.

“ _That sounds perfect-_ ”

Jungeun cut off the speaker voice and came to stand next to Jiwoo.

The red haired stared between the phone and her friend, the words rushing out of her mouth faster than normal. “I was just coming to tell you, I wasn’t sure at first, and it’s not like anything has to happen, I thought you knew, but then you weren’t there and I just-”

“It’s for you,” said Jungeun, interrupting her and placing the phone in her hands. “I have to go.”

“Lip,” called Jiwoo, but the other girl didn’t listen, walking out and closing the door carefully behind her.

Then she walked towards 6A, pressing the doorbell once and then knocking.

When Jinsoul opened the door, surprise on her face, she was already speaking. “Is Yerim home?”

The blonde frowned, moving her glasses on top of her head. “No, she’s at a friends house -”

She swallowed back her words, Jungeun’s lips on hers immediately, pushing her back inside the apartment. One arm went automatically at her waist, before she tried to pull away, worried.

“Are you… drunk? Are you okay?”

Jungeun shook her head a couple of times, coming closer and trying to lean in for another kiss.

This time Jinsoul moved away, a worried light in her expression. “I’m not taking advantage of you if you’re drunk, Jungeun. Whatever it is we are doing, it’s not _that_.”

The younger girl shook her head. “I’m not drunk, and I’m consenting, I just want you, I need you to…” she took a deep breath, and looked up at Jinsoul, her expression turning almost serious. “I just need you to _fuck_ me. Please.”

Jinsoul stared at her for a couple of seconds, eyes searching for… _something_ , in Jungeun. Whatever she saw was enough.

Then, she closed the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for answering me in the comments of the last chapter!  
> so far i see that all of u want at least one camping episode, so im going to plan it - don't expect it until like week sixteen and after - and aren't opposed to me writing smut. i really appreciate you guy's feedback and im probably gonna need it and stuff


	14. week fourteen: the one with the nosy friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chuulip finally talk, haseul is smarter than most think and the maknae lines plots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man i love loona

For a second, Jinsoul wasn’t sure what had woken her up.

While not being what one would normally consider a morning owl, with her job at the pre-school she was used to waking up earlier than most.

But her alarm was not screaming in her ears, which meant something else had woken her up.

That’s when she caught the familiar scent of peaches and cream, and she relaxed minutely on the bed. 

“Are you awake?” whispered the owner of the voice, and the blonde just hummed, refusing to open her eyes and face reality. 

Reality as in the fact that she really needed to speak to Jungeun about what had transpired the night before, and what  _ exactly  _ were the two of them doing, falling into bed together for like the fifth time now - sixth if you counted the time they were both drunk as hell - like it was routine.

She felt the press of soft lips on her collarbones and sighed, eyes slowly opening. She couldn’t see Jungeun’s face, just the top of her head as she trailed kisses on her collarbones and her neck, soft and slow, like she didn’t have any other care in the world.

Then, Jungeun’s lips moved on her neck and Jinsoul’s eyes fluttered closed, a pleased sound escaping her lips. 

The younger was always careful not to leave any incriminating mark, but still, when her teeth pressed teasingly at the skin under her chin, Jinsoul’s breath came out a little short.

The other just let out a little warm puff of laughter against her skin, before lifting her head back up so that she could look at the older in the eye. “Morning,”

Jinsoul’s eyes narrowed at her, and she pushed her from where she was hovering over her and shifted so that she was on top of the younger. “You’re a menace. It’s Sunday, I could have slept in.”

“Then you don’t know me  _ at all _ ,” joked Jungeun, but that hit a little too close to home.

Because it was true. Jinsoul did  _ not  _ know Kim Jungeun. 

Hell, before the party, she hadn’t even been sure she  _ liked  _ the girl. Or vice versa.

Sure, she was really hot, and there was that one time she had cooked for her, but… it didn’t really count, did it? 

All she knew of Kim Jungeun was that she was 22, was best friends of one Kim Jiwoo and always teared up during sex. Oh, and she lived in the apartment next to hers with four other girls.

The younger ignored the look on Jinsoul’s face, trailing her finger from Jinsoul’s neck to the curve of her breast, exposed by the neckline of her sleep shirt. Her smile was tantalising as she put a finger on said neckline and pulled down, slowly.

Jinsoul arched an eyebrow at that, then fluidly pulled the shirt of herself, remaining in just her panties in front of the younger girl.

Jungeun grinned and shoved at her until Jinsoul was the one with her back on the bed.

“I thought I was going to have to spell it out for you,” she whispered, trailing kisses from her navel to her exposed breasts. 

“As if,” let out Jinsoul, breath getting caught in her throat when Jungeun’s lips brushed against her breast. “You’re very,” her breath stuttered when she felt the dart of a small tongue against his nipple, “oh, transparent,”

The younger girl made a small noise, tongue lapping lazily at her left nipple. She twirled it around the base of the brown nipple, her left hand grazing softly against her flat stomach.

When she pressed her teeth around it, Jinsoul moaned softly, bringing a fist to her mouth cover up any sounds she might make. Jungeun bit down on it fast and hard, immediately tonguing the offended area, while Jinsoul shifted a little under her arm.

“Fuck, Jungeun,” managed the other around her fist when the younger flicked the abused nipple with her tongue. 

Jungeun then pressed the other nipple between two fingers of her free hand, grinning, when she heard a small whine building from behind Jinsoul’s lips. 

She wanted to keep teasing her for a little bit longer, even as the noises that managed to escape the older were starting to get to her. Maybe if she -

“Yo, Jinsoul!” 

Jungeun’s movement stilled, frozen, before she was bodily pushed off Jinsoul. 

“ _ It’s Yerim,”  _ whisper shouted the other blonde, staring around herself in almost fear.

“Jinsoul?”

“Hold on!” she answered, voice high, grabbing the shirt she had just discarded and pulling it out over her head. Then she turned to Jungeun, all of her blankets in her hands. “Don’t  _ move _ .” she ordered, before unceremoniously putting all of said blankets over her, effectively covering her with them.

Jungeun didn’t answer, heartbeat so loud in her ears that she wasn’t sure Yerim wouldn’t just be able to hear her anyway.

But she kept her mouth snapped shut, as she heard the sound of Jinsoul’s bedroom door being unlocked.

“ _ Hey, Yerim _ .  _ Whatcha doing here? I thought you said you were going to stay at Yeojin’s tonight?” _

“ _ Yeah, I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to have breakfast together this morning,”  _ explained the younger girl. “ _ You weren’t answering your phone, and I’m not mean enough to let you starve. _ ”

“ _ Wait, what time is it? _ ”

“ _ It’s almost 10, _ ”

Jungeun’s eyes widened in surprise. She had been at Jinsoul’s place for 16 hours straight now. It was a wonder that Jiwoo hadn’t called the police yet.

And thinking about her best friend immediately soured Jungeun’s mood.

It wasn’t fair, wasn’t fair on  _ either  _ of them, but the facts remained the facts.

The woman who Sunmi had recommended them had seen videos of both of them singing and decided that Jungeun didn’t even deserve the courtesy of a ‘thank you but no thank you’ e-mail.

They had decided that Jiwoo’s voice was exactly what they needed and Jiwoo hadn’t even had the decency of telling her. 

Like of course, after all they had done together - they were  _ best friends _ , goddamit! - hearing that only  _ one  _ of them had an actual talent, wasn’t easy. Knowing that despite having worked together their whole lives, having busked together, made covers and trained their vocals together, one of them was better than the other.

(and honestly, was she surprised? Even in High School, Jiwoo had always been 100% times more popular than she had been. People who didn’t even know her followed her on Instagram like she was some sort of celebrity/influencer, when all she did was post about her daily life and her friends. Jiwoo just had that  _ it  _ factor.)

But the fact that Jiwoo hadn’t even bothered telling her about it, the fact that she had gone to that meeting without telling Jungeun, the fact that she had had to find this out from someone else? 

_ That _ stung.

Jungeun startled when the covers were pulled from on top of her, Jinsoul’s face reappearing in front of her, still a little flustered.

“She’s gone,” told her the older girl, a little quieter.

“Good,” let out Jungeun, even her a little surprised by the how sour her tone of voice had turned. “I’ll let myself out. Or would you rather I climb out of the window like the dirty little secret I am, lest she sees me in the hallway and somehow figures it out?”

It wasn’t fair, and she knew it.

Jinsoul also knew it, seen as her face went from concerned to unimpressed faster than the younger could blink. “Would you have preferred her to find you on my bed?”

Jungeun sighed, pulling down the shirt Jinsoul had lent her the night before before pressing her palms on her face. “I’m sorry.”

She felt Jinsoul’s fingers on her face as the older pulled her hair behind her ears. “You’ve been in a mood,” then informed the older girl.

The other looked at her from behind her fingers, and considered it for a second.

On one side, she  _ barely  _ really knew Jinsoul. They weren’t friends, not really.

Acquaintances with benefits? Convenient mind blowing hookups?

But on the other side, Jinsoul hadn’t pushed Jungeun away the night before. She had only really hesitated at the beginning, when she thought that perhaps Jungeun was drunk and she might risk taking advantage of her. Then, once she had determined that she was not, in fact, drunk, she had somehow managed to realise that Jungeun needed this, and let her in.

She was a good person.

“My best friend got an offer,” She managed, still not pulling her fingers away from her face.

“An offer?” 

Jungeun let out a small breath. “We sent some videos of us singing as audition tapes to this friend of Sunmi’s. And they got back to us.” Well… “They got back to Jiwoo. They…  _ She _ went to an interview with them, and apparently it was successful,” she continued, remembering the words from the night before. 

“And they didn’t get back to you?”

Jinsoul’s voice seemed to lack any intonation. Jungeun was dying to look at her and try to figure out what she was thinking, but she didn’t want to escape the safety of hiding behind her fingers, not yet. “Uh-uh.”

“And Jiwoo didn’t tell you?”

The younger bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw the smallest amount of blood. “Uh-uh.”

“And which part of this upsets you the most?”

This time Jungeun had to look up, confused. Jinsoul was looking back at her, her wide eyes entrapping her stare immediately. 

She looked serious, and concerned, and interested, like Jungeun’s words were more than a stupid girl’s tantrum over her best friend getting something without her.

“What?”

Jinsoul’s eyes turned even kinder and why could Jungeun feel tears behind her eyelids all of a sudden? “What is upsetting you the most? The fact that Jiwoo and you always do everything together? The fact that you didn’t get picked? The fact that  _ she  _ got picked? The-”

“She didn’t tell me,” the words slipped out of Jungeun’s mouth faster than her brain could catch up with them. “Why wouldn’t she tell me? I’m her  _ best friend _ . Of course I would love for us to debut together, to join the same company or something, but what made her think that I wouldn’t 100% support her? That I wouldn’t be proud of her for what she achieved, even if I didn’t achieve it with her? Does she think that I’m  _ so  _ selfish that she couldn’t tell me herself, least I become enraged and mad at her?”

She blinked as quickly as she couldn’t reigning back the tears because  _ fuck that _ , she wasn’t going to cry on Jinsoul’s shoulder.

“Have you considered that  _ you  _ are also her best friend?” then said Jinsoul, and Jungeun frowned.

Jinsoul shook her head, “You’re her best friend as much as she is yours. You have done everything together, from what I know of the two of you. How hard do you think it must be for her to accept that she was accepted to do something and you weren’t?”

“But,”

“If it was you,” continued the older, undeterred, “Would you accept that it was just you, and then tell her immediately? Would you be okay with it enough to go and tell her that you got picked and she didn’t?”

Jungeun’s mouth was closed, and her eyes were looking up at Jinsoul with a little more heartbreak than she cared for. Then she finally shook her head. “No,” she admitted, “I wouldn’t. I would try to get her to be accepted too. I wouldn’t tell her until I had given up.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Shit.”

“You’re her best friend,” told her Jinsoul, a gentle smile on her face. “She needs you to be here for her. She needs you to tell her it’s okay to take that chance.” She tilted her head to the side, inspecting Jungeun’s face for a moment. “Is it okay for her to take that chance?”

“Of course it is,” swallowed Jungeun. Then she shrugged, a small smile on her face. “She’s my best friend.”

+

“Everyone is being weird,” 

That was the first thing Yerim said as she walked inside Hyejoo’s apartment. The girl was standing in the middle of the living room with Yeojin at her side, in the middle of a game of Just Dance.

Chaewon was also in the room, although she was curled in a ball on the couch, her computer precariously balanced on her knee. She looked up for a second when she heard the door, and rolled her eyes at Yerim. “Say something new.”

The purple haired girl dropped next to her, “ _ Weirder  _ than usual.”

“Intriguing,” drawled Yeojin, before shouting, “Hey, that’s  _ cheating _ !”

“You’re the one who doesn’t seem to know how the game works! That doesn’t mean I’m cheating!”

“What goes on?” asked Chaewon, clearly not interested in Yeojin and Hyejoo’s squabbling. 

Yerim shrugged. “It’s just Jinsoul really. But it’s like… she’s  _ hiding  _ something from me. She keeps acting suspiciously nervous everytime she sees me in the apartment, like she wasn’t expecting me to be there; and yeah, of course, I work now, so I’m not there all the time. But it still feels like more than not expecting me, she was expecting someone  _ else. _ ”

“Maybe she’s seeing someone?” wondered Yeojin, jumping and shouting “ _ yes _ !”

“I thought that for a second, but who could it be? She hasn’t had the time to meet anyone, lately. She hasn’t gone out with anyone in months, and if she had met someone, she would have at least mentioned it.”

Hyejoo hummed, pausing the game despite Yeojin’s complaints. She sat down next to Yerim and put her head on her palm. “And you think she is seeing someone from here?”

This was why Hyejoo was her best friend. She always seemed to be on the same wavelength as Yerim, knowing exactly where her thoughts were headed.

She shrugged. “There is no one else she has been spending time with except the people in our complex. The people on our  _ floor  _ specifically.”

Yeojin thought about it for a second. “Thank god Vivi and Haseul are dating and very obviously exclusively so.” She sighed and counted on her fingers. “That still leaves: Jiwoo, Jungeun, Heejin, Hyunjin and Sooyoung.”

Hyejoo made a face. “My  _ sister _ ?! Why, why,  _ why? _ ”

Yerim patted her shoulder comfortingly, but she couldn’t say that Yeojin was off base. “They did date back in High School.”

Chaewon whistled. “Really? And they managed to stay friends?”

“From what I heard they made better friends than they made girlfriends,” explained Hyejoo. Then she huffed. “Fine, then my sister stays on the list.” She turned her attention to Chaewon. “Have your roommates been acting out of order lately?”

The blonde made a thoughtful noise. “Well, Heejin has been acting weirdly, lately. Getting all giggly and spending a lot of time on her phone. She did get a job thanks to Haseul, but I doubt that it would warrant this much glee.

“Hyunjin on the other side, hasn’t really been much different from usual. She looks mostly suspicious of Heejin’s sudden good mood, but other than that plain old Hyunjin.

“Jungeun has also been a little different lately. She seems a little jumpy, like she’s expecting to get caught for something, but also weirdly pleased with something. She didn’t even shout at me the other day for forgetting it was my turn with the washing up.

“Jiwoo, though… She has been a little nervous too, the past few days, like she was about to do something wrong, or like she was waiting to get caught for something as well. But yesterday, when I got home, I heard her crying in the bathroom. When she came out, her face looked like, devastated or something. I tried to ask her what was wrong but she didn’t want to say, and I didn’t press her.” She blinked at Yerim. “Did Jinsoul look like she could have possibly broken Jiwoo’s heart?”

Yerim pursed her lips, thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Jinsoul is usually a pretty empathetic person, so if she had ended up breaking Jiwoo’s heart, I’d like to think she would be more upset.” She mused for a few moments, before adding, “She didn’t look upset this morning, at all. Mostly nervous and embarrassed.”

“Intriguing,” said Yeojin, in a tone that indicated it was anything  _ but _ . “No offense but… have you tried asking her about it?”

“That would give her a chance to  _ lie _ ,” immediately said Hyejoo, shaking her head decidedly. “Don’t listen to Yeojin’s stupid ideas. Let’s investigate!” she finished, her smile wicked.

Chaewon and Yerim exchanged a look.

_ Uh-oh _ .

* * *

When Jiwoo returned home from work, Jungeun was sitting at the couch, hands on her lap and an almost nervous expression on her face.

Heejin and Hyunjin, who were sitting at the kitchen table, glanced at the expression on the red head’s face, and immediately sneaked out of the apartment as swiftly and noiselessly as possible.

Not that it mattered, since the other two were just staring at each other, fear and pain reflected on both their eyes.

Jiwoo swallowed nervously and then slowly walked further inside the room, until she dropped on the sofa on Jungeun’s left, making sure there was plenty of space between the two of them.

Her best friend didn’t say anything at that, despite the space on her right, on the couch. Instead she kept her eyes on her hand, blinking and trying to form words in her mind.

In the end, a good six minutes later, it was Jiwoo who spoke up. 

“You didn’t come back home last night,”

Jungeun looked up guiltily for a second, and then let out a breath through her nose. She turned her eyes back on her fingers. “I was upset,” she finally confessed.

It was like a dam broke.

“I’m  _ so  _ sorry, Jungeun,” said Jiwoo, voice high and fast, “I didn’t mean for you to find out like this, I swear! At first I didn’t even realise that it was just me, maybe on some level I did, but not consciously. I thought that perhaps you were going to get yours on a different date, but the longer it went on, the closer it got to my date, the less I felt like I could tell you, and I know,  _ I know _ , that you wouldn’t have- that you would have listened to me, but I was so nervous, so unsure-”

She gasped, drawing in a breath, and launched herself back in her spiel. “And then I got there, and I realised that it was really just me, and I didn’t know - I didn’t want - what to do, and I asked, but she said - and I- and then Sooyoung - but by the time we got back they already called and you answered and-”

Jiwoo drew a shaky breath, the way she did when she was about to be overwhelmed by tears, and blinked. “I’m sorry. I am so  _ sorry _ .”

At the pure and  _ utter  _ heartbreak on her best friend’s face, Jungeun felt the protective feelings she had always felt towards the other girl spring back to life, and she was on her knees with Jiwoo’s face in her hands. “Hey, hey, Jiwoo -  _ Chuu _ , no. None of that, it’s not your fault. It’s not.”

“But I-”

“I shouldn’t have left like that,” told her the blonde, shaking her head. “I should have stayed there and listened, try to let you speak to me, but I was just so  _ upset _ . And that’s no excuse -”

“You don’t have to apologise -”

“Yes I do -”

“- it’s my fault anyway -”

“- Jiwoo, listen to me,” She almost shouted, poking her cheek with a little more strength than necessary.

Jiwoo blinked. “Did you just…  _ poke  _ me?”

“Yes,” huffed Jungeun, “Now,  _ listen _ . I was a lousy best friend, and I understand why you didn’t tell me. Jin-  _ I  _ figured it out, eventually. And I should have figured it out earlier if I wasn’t busy being an idiot.”

“Because it’s the same thing I would do if the situation was reversed. I would exhaust every option I had, I wouldn’t dare or risk upsetting you unless I had 100% proof that you wouldn’t get a chance. Which means I know what you’re planning to do next,” she narrowed her eyes, “and I can’t let you.”

Jiwoo’s eyes also narrowed. “You can’t make me join them, Jungeun.”

“Like hell I can’t! Jiwoo, do you realise what a rare opportunity this is?” She wanted to shake her, but she held herself back. “You have to!”

“We’ve always done everything together and-” Jiwoo shook her head and looked at her, pleadingly. “I don’t want to do that to you. I can’t. I  _ won’t _ .”

The blonde let go of her cheeks and crossed her arms around her chest. “Have you considered, for a second, how would I feel if you refuse this?”

That seemed to startle the other. “What?”

“How do you think I’d feel if you gave up such an immense opportunity because of  _ me _ ? Jiwoo, chances like this don’t happen everyday. Chances like this can make or break you,” her gaze was hard. “You keep thinking that I’ll be sad/lonely/jealous if you accept it, but you have to realise that it would be 100% worse for me if you didn’t. I couldn’t live with myself knowing I was holding you back.”

“You’re not-”

“If the situation was reversed,” she continued, like she couldn’t hear her. “If I had a chance and you didn’t, would you accept me refusing it because I didn’t want to  _ hurt your feelings _ ?”

The red haired girl’s lips thinned. 

Jungeun smiled, and took Jiwoo’s hand in hers. “I’m not going to lie: I’m jealous,” Jiwoo looked down, and Jungeun pulled her chin up with her free hand. “But I’m also so immensely  _ proud  _ of you, Jiwoo.”

“You are?” and here came the wobble of her lower lip.

Jungeun felt her own eyes stinging. “Of course I am. My best friend is going to be a signed fucking singer.”

“I am?”

Instead of answering Jungeun opened her arms,  _ oof _ -ing when Jiwoo crashed against her, sniffling and sobbing softly against her chest. Then, with her free hand, she reached out for her phone.

+

**tsundere from 6B:** hey, thank you for your advice.

Jinsoul felt her own lips pulling up, as she shot a quick reply to Jungeun.

**jinsoul** : no biggie! glad to help

When she looked back up, Haseul was staring at her, a considering look on her face.

The thing was that Haseul had a way of looking at you like you were a painting she was slowly and - terrifyingly - easily figuring out. 

It had come particularly handy in high school, with fake people upon fake people roaming around freely; but to have that almost foxy and astute gaze fixed on you? It was a little bit uncomfortable.

Still she didn’t look away, choosing to regard her best friend like a wild animal who could sense and register fear the moment it spiked through someone’s blood. 

She could  _ totally  _ establish herself as the Alpha.

Haseul took a sip of her coffee, eyes trained on her. “So,” she started, deceptively calm, “How long have you sleeping with her?”

Jinsoul choked on her own saliva, hand beating at her chest while her cheeks immediately reddened. Ah, whatever. Haseul was clearly the Alpha.

She tried to act as unaware as possible. “Uh, what? I’m not sleeping with Jungeun.”

Haseul’s eyebrows raised all the way to her hairline, and Jinsoul groaned. “Or  _ anyone _ ,” she added, knowing already it was a lost cause. “I’m not sleeping with anyone.”

“Uh-uh,” answered the dark haired girl, rolling her eyes. “How long?”

There wasn’t really a reason to lie anymore. And it wasn’t like Haseul would go around shouting it to everyone who would listen. Maybe keeping it from Sooyoung would be a little hard for both of them, but if she had to, Haseul was incredibly good at keeping a secret.

“Since New Year’s,”

Haseul whistled. “And what is it?”

And wasn’t that the million dollar question?

When she didn’t answer, Haseul’s expression turned softer and she tapped two fingers on her lips. 

Jinsoul smiled, even though she felt a strange clench in her chest. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh and people don't think i don't read/take note of your suggestions and stuff! i just want to drop some plotlines in place before i decide on other stuff and how to go about them. also i would like to apologise in advance if i end up taking longer for the next chapters, i signed up for a summer event for one of my other fandoms rip


	15. week fifteen: the one with the stalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Chaewon and the three musketeers' list of suspects:**  
>  Ha Sooyoung  
> Jeon Heejin  
> Kim Hyunjin  
> Kim Jiwoo  
> Kim Jungeun
> 
> first investigation: _Jeon Heejin_
> 
> **W/C: 27/01**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did u see that? it only took me two weeks this time. I'm proud of myself ngl  
> i hope u enjoy this chapter eheh

“Jinsoul, hey!”

Jinsoul looked up when her name was called and flashed a quick, awkward smile at the girl in front of her.

After that whole thing the monday before with Jiwoo, Jinsoul hadn’t seen Jungeun around. On Wednesday she had to cover for another teacher and hadn’t been able to go to the laundry room, which meant that it had been more than a week since the two had seen each other.

“Oh. Hey!”

The younger girl smiled back at her, dropping her basket in front of one of the free laundry machines around, and Jinsoul’s head automatically in panic mode.

“I wasn’t avoiding you,” she blurted out.

Jungeun turned her head around, head tilted in adorable confusion. “O...kay?” she then said, when Jinsoul’s face continued to look anxious. “I didn’t think you were?”

“Last week, I mean,” clarified the older girl, and why was her mouth still moving? It was like watching a car crash slowly happen before your eyes and not being able to do anything to stop it. “I wasn’t here. But I wasn’t avoiding you.”

“Oh!” at this Jungeun smiled, looking a little apologetic. “Uh… I wasn’t here either, last week. I was with Jiwoo,” she explained.

Well, wasn’t that a little embarrassing? Jinsoul had spent days worrying that, after the whole almost awkward encounter with Yerim, her not showing up would have looked suspicious and mean, and here Jungeun hadn’t even noticed.

“How are things going with Jiwoo?” she asked instead, momentarily putting her phone down.

The younger girl nodded, clicking a button on the washing machine. “Pretty well, actually. We shared a few tears about me not making it this time, then I spent a while convincing Jiwoo to accept her offer under penalty of death and no more of my hotteok ever again. I think the fear of being denied hotteok did more than the fear of death, actually.”

“If the hotteok are anything like what you cooked me that time when everyone was at Yeojin’s recital, I thoroughly understand,” said Jinsoul, making an exaggerated longing expression. “Did I ever thank you for that?”

Jungeun rolled her eyes as she finally came to sit next to her. “You have. Extensively,” she mocked, and the older girl pouted.

“I am a bad cook and you basically served me the equivalent of ambrosia or something. I was very grateful,”

She hadn’t really meant for it to sound this flirtatious, but suddenly Jungeun’s expression went from mocking to hungry, eyelids drooping slightly and teeth worrying her bottom lip even as she gave a half smile.

But instead of responding in kind, her mind immediately flashed her with the face of Haseul and her words from the week before.

Even though they had done everything but discuss what the hell the two of them were playing at, one rule that they had silently agreed on was that the two of them were the only ones that knew what they were doing.

Jungeun had told her that she hadn’t spoken to anybody about what they were doing, and, up until the week before, neither had Jinsoul. And sure, Haseul was her best friend and would never hurt her on purpose - hell, she had made sure that Jinsoul knew she wasn’t going to tell anyone - she felt like not telling Jungeun that there was one more person who now knew something would be lying.

Which was way the moment Jungeun’s hand fell on hers, she retracted it immediately, blurting out, “Haseul knows something is going on.”

Jungeun, who had looked momentarily hurt when Jinsoul had basically pushed her hand off, blinked at her. “Haseul?” she then question, still more confused than panicked.

“I’ve never kept anything from her or Sooyoung ever, I always tell them everything,” she rushed to explain, swallowing nervously. “And when I don’t tell them something immediately, they figure it out themselves, Haseul especially. She saw me texting you after the whole Jiwoo thing and immediately knew I was sleeping with someone and…” she looked down at her own hand, “I don’t like lying to her. So I told her.”

“What did you tell her, exactly?” 

Jinsoul looked up again, and found Jungeun blinking at her, face impassive. 

Sometimes, Jungeun was a little unpredictable. She wasn’t an irascible person, per se - or at least Jinsoul hadn’t known her to be one - but she had her moods and she got annoyed at the randomest things. 

But right now she didn’t look mad. She looked almost… curios? about what Jinsoul told Haseul.

Jinsoul shrugged, still eyeing the other blonde uneasily. “Nothing much, really. She just asked me if I was sleeping with someone, and I, like an idiot, answered ‘I am not sleeping with Jungeun’.”

Jungeun actually laughed at that, and Jinsoul relaxed a little more. “Yeah yeah, laugh it up. But anyway, point is, she promised she wouldn’t tell anyone about us sleeping together and I know we can trust her. She’d never willingly hurt me. And you, by extension.”

The other girl nodded, fingernails tapping on the wood of the chair thoughtfully for a few seconds. She was quiet long enough that Jinsoul started reaching for her phone, quickly stopping when she spoke again. “Is that what we’re doing? Sleeping together?”

Ah, thought Jinsoul. The dreaded conversation. The DTR.

“I think so?” she finally said, but her statement came out as more of a question. “I mean, I wouldn’t call us friends with benefits or anything more than that, but we do sleep together. After having sex, usually.”

Jungeun laughed, then tilted her head again. “I guess we aren’t really friends, are we?”

Technically, Jinsoul knew this. Jinsoul had made peace with this even before this conversation had been brought up. Jinsoul was aware of this since the moment they started this whole thing: they weren’t friends. They didn’t really know each other.

And yet, for some reason, hearing those same words come out of Jungeun’s mouth hurt. Which made no sense, because it wasn’t like the girl was wrong. 

But then again, she had helped with the whole Jiwoo thing. Maybe she had been able to do that only because she was at the right place at the right time and whatever, but wasn’t that what friends did? Help each other out?

She cleared her throat, ignoring what felt like a huge knot around her vocal cords. “Not really, no,” she managed to admit, keeping her eyes on the washing machine in front of her.

She felt Jungeun shifting around next to her, but she didn’t turn around, keeping her eyes on the washing machine. She felt unhappy, and she wasn’t sure why and she didn’t like it not one bit.

“What if we were?”

The words were said so quietly that it was hard to hear them over the sound of the washing machine, but Jinsoul managed to catch them. She turned her head around, frowning at where Jungeun was sitting, staring at the washing machine in the same way Jinsoul had been.

There was a downturn on her lips, and she was staring at the thing so hard you’d think she wanted to destroy it or something.

“Uh?”

Jungeun slowly turned around, her face very serious. “You were very nice to me about the whole Jiwoo thing,” she explained, carefully choosing her words. “And the few times we saw each other fully clothed,” she made a face, and Jinsoul tried to hide a smile at how cute she looked, “you were also very funny and whatnot. I’d like to be friends. Without the sex.”

They did have pretty awesome sex, in Jinsoul’s opinion. But being friends with Jungeun was an alternative that Jinsoul was ready to drop sex over.

She pulled out her hand, face all mock serious. “I agree. I’d like to be your friend, Miss Lip.”

The younger girl’s lip quirked at the nickname only Jiwoo usually used, and she took her hand in hers. “And I yours, Miss Jindori.”

+

“Has anyone seen my lipgloss?” shouted Heejin, stepping out of the bathroom in a cloud of perfume and hairspray.

Chaewon looked up from where she was perched at the table with Yeojin, a single raised eyebrow. “The hot pink lipgloss from CLIO with the cute design at the top that’s a little ruined and that you left on the table last week?”

The dark haired looked at her hopeful. “Yes, that one.”

The blonde didn’t look very impressed. “I haven’t seen your hot pink lipgloss, but I have seen the one you stole from me, and it’s back in my make up bag.”

Heejin looked sorry for a fraction of a second, before waltzing towards Chaewon and Hyunjin’s room, shouting “Thank you!” at the other girl.

“I didn’t even say you could use it!” shouted back Chaewon, only huffing when the door closed but not moving to stop her.

Instead she immediately turned her attention on Yeojin, “Have you told Hyejoo and Yerim to get ready?”

The younger girl shook her phone in Chaewon’s face, “Yep. How did you figure out she was going to be going on a date today?”

Chaewon shrugged, typing something on her own phone and standing up. “I’m observant and she’s predictable. In fact, everyone in this apartment - hell, everyone I know in this complex - is very easy to predict, except Hyunjin. That girl is very strange.”

Yeojin followed her as they walked outside the house, climbing up the stairs instead of walking down. “Me?”

“Now that I know you better, yeah. You kind of are.” She gave her a little smile. “For example, even before you proposed it, I knew you were going to say me and you should team up together and wait in the house with Heejin while Hyejoo and Yerim wait/follow her from outside. You think these few minutes we share before joining up with the other two will help us bond or something like that.” She explained, revelling in the shocked expression on Yeojin’s face.

The brown haired girl closed her mouth and blinked, a little shocked. “How did you figure it out?”

“Even though Hyejoo and you forgave each other, you want her to know that you’re serious about getting to know me. You always laugh at my jokes even when they aren’t that funny and compliment me all the time.” When Yeojin frowned, a little worried, Chaewon’s smile grew. “I know what you’re doing, because I’m doing the exact same thing. Actually, I think Yerim is also aware of what we are doing, but Hyejoo is just happy that we are getting along, to be honest.”

Yeojin then shrugged. “Well, it is true. I know I’m coming out as a little bit of a bootlicker, but since you’re going to be a fixture in our lives, I want to make sure I like you.”

“I don’t know about fixture-” started Chaewon, but Yeojin waved her off.

“Hyejoo adores you. Yerim has already warmed up to you. You live in this complex, at least for the foreseeable future. It’s inevitable,” she joked, and Chaewon gave her a small shy smile. “For what it’s worth I do actually think your jokes are funny. I have a very weird sense of humour.”

“Ditto,” agreed Chaewon. “I do actually like you, so far. So yay for us! By the time we are done, we will be besties and miss Hyejoo won’t know what hit her.”

“Can you imagine?” snorted Yeojin, then quickly shushing herself when she heard the door of the apartment opening.

Both of them looked down, quietly watching as Heejin stepped out of the apartment, carefully locking the door behind her.

She was wearing a big grey coat on top of the white jumper tight blue jeans combo she had under, a white and black bag on her shoulder slung on her shoulder. They could see the glitter of Chaewon’s pink lipgloss on her lips, as well as some shiny eyeshadow on her eyelids, and her usually straight hair was all waved, two small pins on her head completing the full look.

They waited in silence until the girl had gone down two flight of stairs before moving to follow her. 

“Do you really think Heejin is dating Jinsoul?” whispered Yeojin.

Chaewon shrugged, keeping her mouth closed.

To be honest, even though they knew that Heejin was definitely dating someone, Chaewon wasn’t sure she could immediately assume that said person was Jinsoul. Sure, according to Yerim, Jinsoul had left earlier that day dressed all types of fancy and hadn’t told her where she was going, but immediately assuming it was Heejin was a little bit of a reach.

On the other side, she could see Heejin and Jinsoul making a cute couple. Both of them were not very good cooks - rip Choi Yerim - but they made up for it by being very hardworking and talented. Jinsoul was older, but she could see Heejin as someone who could ‘tame’ her and take care of her at the same time; where Jinsoul was slightly wild, Heejin was more calm. To sum it up in a meme, Jinsoul was the kind of person who said ‘I’m going to shove 20 marshmallows in my mouth’ and Heejin was the friend holding a camera and the marshmallows while saying ‘you’re a hazard to society, but also a coward. Do 30’.

So she could see it, yes.

They walked out of the complex a few minutes after the dark haired girl did, and thanked the heavens when they saw her power walking instead of stopping for an uber or something. 

As they followed her, a message buzzed on Chaewon’s phone.

 **purple** : choerry in position, over

Chaewon rolled her eyes, looking around until she spotted Yerim and Hyejoo walking on the opposite side of the road, disguised with scarves and hoods, before typing back.

 **eden** **green** : i see you

 **purple** : …

 **eden** **green** : 🙄

 **eden** **green** : i see you, over

 **purple** : :D

Yeojin glanced at her phone, smiling. “Purple? Because of her hair?”

The blonde shook her head, keeping her eyes on Heejin. “No, I have synesthesia. In my mind, names become colours, so I’ve kind assigned each of my friends a colour.”

The smaller girl looked worried. “Are you… better?”

Chaewon frowned at her, then laughed. “Oh! It’s not an illness!” she kept laughing, despite Yeojin flushing, a little embarrassed. “It’s just… a thing that my brain does. I’m perfectly fine.”

When Yeojin kept pouting, Chaewon grabbed her hand in hers, smiling. “Do you want to know what colour you are?”

“I have a colour?” She questioned, eyes wide.

Chaewon retraced her earlier words, trying to understand Yeojin’s sudden shock.

I’ve assigned each of my friends a colour.

She actually meant those words. While every person had their colour - and sometimes multiple people had the same colour - she didn’t bother sitting and recognising everyone’s colour unless she cared about the person involved.

And, even before her and Yeojin started spending more time together, she had slowly been considering her her friend. She had been considering each of those girls her friend, from Vivi and Haseul downstairs, who she saw the least often, to Hyunjin, her very tsundere roommate.

“You’re orange,” she told her, and Yeojin grinned.

“Awesome, I love orange! I should dye my hair orange,” she decided, and something softened in Chaewon’s heart. The casual manner in which Yeojin accepted her colour, even though it was nothing but the blonde’s mind’s way of cataloguing her made her feel soft. 

“What colour is everyone else?”

“Heejin is hot pink,” she started, and they both snorted, remembering the lip gloss she was wearing. “Hyunjin is yellow, Jiwoo is peach and Jungeun is red. Vivi is pastel pink, Haseul is green, Jinsoul is blue and Sooyoung is burgundy. And Hyejoo is,”

Her phone vibrated.

 **silver** : heejin just stopped and is waiting, we found a perfect seat

 **purple** : over

“Come on,” called Chaewon, pulling Yeojin closer to where Hyejoo and Yerim were standing, half hidden behind a post box.

“Perfect spot?”

Yerim grinned, fixing her scarf. “We are all short enough. Except Hyejoo,”

The black haired girl was a little crouched so that her head wouldn’t peek from behind the post box, but she shrugged. “I’m curious enough about this whole thing that having to bend won’t hurt me too much.”

“What are you doing here?”

It was Hyejoo’s hands quickly slapping Yeojin and Yerim’s mouths shut that stopped the girls from screaming. Unfortunately, Hyejoo only had two hands and Chaewon let out an audible yelp before covering her own mouth shut. 

The cause of their yell didn’t look very apologetic, standing there with her hands crossed around her chest. “Well?”

Hyejoo glanced from behind the post box, then turned to glare at the other girl. “Hyunjin, what the hell!”

Hyunjin, on her part, just kept staring. She blinked past them to where Heejin was sitting and she frowned in confusion. “Why are you stalking Heejin?”

Yeojin licked Hyejoo’s palm, and the dark haired girl let go of her and Yerim, face disgusted. “We aren’t stalking anyone. We are just… hanging.” She made a weird gesture with her hands. “Just a couple of gals pals. Hanging.”

“Behind a post box?” the red haired girl didn’t look impressed.

“We think,” finally said Yerim, pouting a little. “That my sister is dating someone and we are checking to see if it’s Heejin. She got all dressed up like she was going on a date, so we followed her to see if it was.”

“That’s the literal definition of stalking,” pointed out Hyunjin, even as her lips pursed. “You really think Heejin is dating Jinsoul?”

Chaewon’s head snapped in her direction, but Hyunjin’s face betrayed nothing. She didn’t look jealous or amused or disappointed or anything. Damn that amazing pokerface; they could have found out if it was Hyunjin dating Jinsoul, but the girl was too good.

“We suspect,” she finally said, shrugging. “You?”

The wine haired girl finally turned to Chaewon, one single raised bow. “Why would I have an opinion on something I didn’t know about till now?”

She was good.

“She’s standing up!” suddenly hissed Hyejoo, and all five girls peeked from behind the post box to where Heejin was, in fact standing.

She was smiling brightly, but instead of a tall and long haired blonde approaching her, it was a short haired girl that Chaewon didn’t really recognise. She felt like she might have seen her before but,

“Holy shit,” whisper shouted Yeojin, eyes wide. “Is that Ryujin?”

“It is Shin Ryujin herself,” muttered Hyejoo, surprised.

Oh! It was the girl from Jinsoul’s party. She recalled Yerim and Hyejoo introducing her as one of their friends, and her spending the evening with Hyunjin and Heejin.

Then Ryujin leaned in to kiss Heejin and everyone turned around, not particularly interested in being caught creeping on a couple.

“Well, that was not Jinsoul,” finally said Yerim, laughing a little awkwardly. “And this does feel a little stalkerish-” she started, turning to Hyunjin.

Except, the girl wasn’t standing with them anymore. 

Yeojin blinked. “When did she even leave? That girl is so creepy.”

“I thought you said she’s the funniest person you’ve ever met,” commented Chaewon, trying to look around and see if Hyunjin was hiding somewhere close. But no. She had fully disappeared.

“The two can coexist.”

Oh well.

“Anyone wants ice cream?” 

* * *

By the time Heejin got back home, nearly five hours later, everyone was already home. And by everyone, she meant not only Hyunjin, Jiwoo, Jungeun and Chaewon, but also Haseul, Hyejoo and Sooyoung.

“Is everything all right?” she asked, as she put down her coat on the back of the couch.

Jungeun cleared her throat, staring at her pointedly.

Heejin rolled her eyes, but picked the coat back up and put it down on the coat hanger. “What are you all doing here?”

Haseul spoke, but her eyes were on Sooyoung the whole time. “Yeojin and Yerim went out to see a friend of theirs; Vivi and Jinsoul are still at work; Sooyoung had some extras from work, so she came over here to share with you guys.”

“Neat!” said Heejin, rushing towards the kitchen, side eyeing Haseul a little.

The short haired girl’s eyes were like two beams trained on Sooyoung’s face, but the older girl was refusing to make eye contact with her friend. Hyejoo didn’t seem to be paying attention to her sister, but Chaewon was staring at her a little thoughtfully.

Not that it was any of her business, what they were up to. She was observant, and noticed things.

Hyunjin was sitting at the table in the kitchen, munching on a dumpling as she read something on her phone. However, the moment she saw Heejin walking inside, she put her phone down, attention wholly focused on her. “Hey.”

Heejin opened the fridge up and pulled a bottle of water. “Hey,” she then answered, dropping on the chair right across from her as she twisted the cap open. “What’s up?”

“How was your date?” promptly asked Hyunjin, and the other girl nearly choked on her water.

But, in her defence, Hyunjin wasn’t one to… ask about anything to do with other people’s lives. Heejin wouldn’t say she was arrogant, nor would she say that she didn’t care, necessarily, about other people. It was more like, she usually waited till the other person volunteered information, she never seeked it herself.

The fact that she was, for whatever reason, making the effort both made Heejin suspicious and warmed her heart. “Was all right, actually,” she found herself saying, eyes widening happily when she found a take away container full of bibimbap. “I had so much fun. We went to the arcade, and then we went by the street food corner and-”

“That sounds great,” interrupted her Hyunjin, suddenly standing up. Her face was carefully blank, in that manner that had Heejin often suspecting she was doing it on purpose to hide her facial expression. “I’m glad you had fun.” She paused for a second, then put down the second dumpling she had. “You like these, don’t you?” she then asked, a little brusque.

Heejin did in fact, love those. She wasn’t quite sure how Hyunjin knew, but she knew better than question her, and nodded.

Sometimes, Hyunjin was a little like a porcupine. Very prickly on the outside, and soft as hell on the inside. But if you petter her too much, or tried to get too close, she would curl up again and try to sting you.

In the past few weeks, Heejin felt like she had been able to see her soft inside, especially since she had given up her jacket because Heejin was cold. But, even though she was the one who had asked Heejin about her date and had literally just given her a dumpling unprompted, Heejin felt like she had just been prickled.

+

“You know,” started Haseul, as they walked back inside her apartment.

Sooyoung immediately stiffened, looking at her best friend warily. She had her ‘thinking’ expression on, and her eyes were staring at her a little too knowingly.

Nothing good ever came out of that expression on Haseul’s face.

But she didn’t say anything, dropping on her couch once her door was locked. Hyejoo had a key, and she didn’t look like she was leaving Chaewon’s side anytime soon.

“You never told me how you fixed that situation with your boss,” finished the younger - by three months, really - girl, dropping on the couch next to her. 

Sooyoung kept her eyes on the off television in front of her, refusing to say a word. Maybe Haseul would take the hint and stop speculating.

But she was too smart for that, and part of Sooyoung felt like she had already come to a conclusion before she had even started talking.

From the moment she had dropped by Sooyoung’s apartment because she was bored and Sooyoung had told her that she had some extras that the girls in 6B would love, Haseul had been staring at Sooyoung and making connections. 

“You were so panicked before,” continued the other girl, “but then, by the time we went to Yeojin’s recital, you had fully calmed down. Like you had come up with a solution. I thought you had decided not to go, at first.

“But you did go. And now that I think about, before that, you started spending more time with one of the girls in 6B in particular,”

“Hyejoo also spends time with one of them in particular. And so does Yeojin, and so do you a little bit,” said Sooyoung, willing her cheeks to stay their normal shade as she broke her own vow of silence. “I’m pretty sure every single one of us has picked one of them that we enjoy spending time with the most. Except Jinsoul, maybe but-”

“You’d be surprised,” snorted Haseul. When Sooyoung turned to look at her questiongly, the other girl just shrugged. “So, was the Christmas party your first date or have you yet to officially ask Jiwoo out?”

Even though she knew Haseul had come to a conclusion after her intensive study of how Sooyoung moved and communicated with the other girls, it was still surprising to hear said conclusion.

Sooyoung herself had avoided thinking too hard about what she wanted, about what her feelings were. 

She wasn’t stupid: she knew Jiwoo was pretty, and at some level she was attracted to her. But at the same time, she had refused to acknowledge the butterflies in her stomach that had manifested ever since she had lied to her coworkers about being in love with her.

And how fucked up was it that all it took was for Jiwoo to lie about liking her and suddenly Sooyoung couldn’t stop looking at her differently?

“She doesn’t like me like that,” she finally said, looking back to the television.

She felt Haseul shift on the couch, until she was finally laying with her head pillowed on Sooyoung’s shoulder. Then Haseul huffed. “I am terrible at dating advice, and I don’t know Jiwoo well enough to go and say ‘don’t worry, she likes you too’. Me, you and Jinsoul need to go to a coffee date soon enough.”

Sooyoung hadn’t liked liked a girl ever since Jinsoul back in High School. She’d had a couple of random hookups, but no actual girlfriend. And at the time she hadn’t even been able to speak to Haseul about it, because Haseul liked Jinsoul too.

The idea of telling the two girls about her ‘feelings’ wasn’t as daunting as it should have been. It felt right. They were her best friends, after all.

“Best friends with crushes on best friends, only you two!”

What.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one:  
> absolutely no one:  
> no one in hell:
> 
> me, writing about haseul, heejin and chaewon: OBSERVANT! KNOW WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON AT ANY GIVEN TIME!!!
> 
> you'll be getting a little smth smth about 97line next update... perhaps background of them in high school, oho  
> who do u think will get together first? 2jin, lipsoul or chuuves?  
> lowkey wondering what goes through hyunjin's head ngl, she's fun to write  
> they all are, but hyunjin is fun as hell to write, her and chaewon  
> me self inserting myself through chaewon by giving her synesthesia? it's more likely than you think  
> althought, if it was me giving the girls colours, they'd be a little different, tbh: i think yeojin should be yellow, and haseul should be white. kim lip is a little red but also gold, and heejin is light blue. yves is perfect, but chuu is ocrah or amber. vivi being pink is 100% perfect, but if she was magenta i wouldn't mind.


	16. week sixteen: the one with the bar drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **W/C: 03/02**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry it took so long to update this, i havent been at my best but i havent given up! next chapter should be on the longish side and ill probably update it next week but dont hold me on it, i have depression and writers block.
> 
> tbh im not super satisfied with this chapter, and its mostly filler to get my ducks all in a row. and should i write down the dates of the week in like the chapters notes or something? cause each week is a particular date; next chapter is valentines day!

When Sooyoung stopped at apartment 6A the door was already open. She could even hear the sound of laughter and music already, and smiled a little to herself as she walked in - careful to close the door behind herself.

“Yerim not home?” she questioned as she walked inside, looking around for the owner of the house.

She found her a few seconds later, sprawled on a comforter on the floor, her usual sleeping shirt on and her long blonde hair tied up in two space buns; Haseul was sitting next to her, gaze trained on what looked like a jug of margarita. The other girl was wearing her blue plaid pyjama shirt and had a little hairband in her hair.

Sooyoung had, on her part, decided on a silk pink [ pyjama ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D44L54PXkAAInb5.jpg) set with a matching sleep mask perched on her head. In her hands was a bag full of pastries she had been instructed to bring along as well as some non alcoholic beverages.

Jinsoul arched a single eyebrow at the question, even as she made grabby hands at the bags. “Nope. And I didn’t even had to kick her out, she was going out with Yeojin.”

“Margarita?” offered Haseul not a second after she had sat down, passing a plastic cup to her friend.

“Thanks,” she agreed, grateful for the liquid courage.

When Haseul had proposed, the week before, for them to have a ‘girl’s night’ to talk about feelings and whatnot, Sooyoung had been unsure. Not that she thought that Haseul or Jinsoul would make her feel bad or anything.

It was just _complicated_ thinking about feelings. It had always been for her, ever since the beginning, when she had been almost in love with Jinsoul.

So even talking about it with her best friends had her on edge. She could barely explain it to herself, how was she supposed to explain it to them? 

But then again, if there was anyone on planet Earth that knew her, knew her better than her parents, knew her better than Sunmi or Hyejoo, then it was Jinsoul and Haseul.

“I’ve been sleeping with Kim Jungeun of 6B,” suddenly said Jinsoul, between one sip of margarita and the other, and okay _what_?

Sooyoung turned to stare at the blonde with wide shocked eyes, but the girl just grabbed one of the donuts from Sooyoung’s bag without paying her any mind.

She turned to Haseul, but the girl didn’t look particularly shocked by the information. She did roll her eyes at the blonde’s delivery, before getting more comfortable on the blankets.

Suddenly Haseul’s insistence on the girl’s night and her comment of “best friends with crushes on best friends” that she had refused to explain the week before made sense.

“Do you like her?” she finally asked, finally grabbing her own drink.

Jinsoul made a face at that, mouth full of donut. Then she shrugged a little, seeming to be thinking carefully about her next words. “I _want_ to like her. She seems to be a very nice person, and she reminds me a little of the two of you,” she finally said, eyeing the jug of margarita. “But I don’t _know_ her. What happened with her… it isn’t how I usually do things.”

“ _How_ did it happen?” wondered Haseul, curious.

“Bad choices plus alcohol that ended up with the two of us in bed together on New Year’s Eve. Or New Year. Whatever,” she pointedly ignored Sooyoung’s very judging face. “That was the first time. Then we ignored it for a while until she had to come get her jacket that she had forgot and next thing I know, we’re in bed together again.”

Even Haseul was staring at her judgingly now. “ _Next thing you know_?” she repeated, just shy of mocking.

The blonde huffed. “What I mean, it’s that I… it’s not like I _planned_ it, okay. Prior to that our relationship consisted of doing the laundry together, barely talking to each other and that one time where I pissed her off. And that time where she waited in my apartment cause everyone was gone and for some reason made me food. We barely talk to each other normally, so it’s just... You know?”

“I understand,” nodded Sooyoung, seriously. Jinsoul relaxed, and the older girl continued, “Unresolved sexual tension.”

The other girl groaned, while Haseul snickered shaking her head at this. Sooyoung continued, keeping the smile from blossoming on her face. “You guys argued once and spent the next few weeks being passively nice to each other. You were bound to snap.”

“When _you_ say it, it sounds like you’re mocking me,” grumbled Jinsoul, picking up her cup and downing her drink.

Haseul sobered, putting a hand on Jinsoul’s thigh and tapping her gently. “We aren’t mocking you, Soul. We are _teasing_. It’s okay for your body to completely act out of control because you met a pretty girl.” 

The blonde scoffed. “That does _not_ sound any better,” she informed her, but she was smirking a little too. “But anyway, we decided to cool it off, since neither of us really knows what the hell we’re doing. We are now working on becoming friends.”

“ _Friends_?” chorused the other two, their incredulity mixing in one.

“Yeah. Friends, no strings and no sex attached.”

“ _No sex_?” chorused the two again, and Jinsoul made a face.

“Stop that. It’s creepy,” she muttered and shrugged. “But yeah, friends, no sex. I want to get to know her, you know, and she wants the same. We have shared a lot of advice with each other, and realised we’d make very good friends for each other. It’s worth a try, after all.”

This time Haseul’s smile was genuine. “That seems pretty reasonable. I am proud of you, Soul.” She told her. “Donut?”

The blonde gave her a look. “I’m a teacher. I know about positive reinforcement,” she said, even as she took the donut.

“Well, you deserve it,” decided the smaller of the three, smiling. “You didn’t sleep with her since you decided to be friends last week, and that’s very good-” Jinsoul’s face turned a little red, and Haseul narrowed her eyes. “Right?”

When the guilt didn’t ease off her face, Sooyoung put two fingers under Jinsoul’s chin, staring at her with a suspicious glint in her eyes. “Jinsoul.”

“Fine!” shouted the blonde, putting the donut back on the paper plate and covering her face with her hands. “But it wasn’t… it wasn’t planned, not exactly! I was just coming back home from dinner with Hobah, and I saw her at the door, and then we both talked about how to help our friendship we should have sex one last time and that was it!”

The two dark haired girl rolled their eyes in tandem at that, while Jinsoul kept whining on the floor.

+

For a moment, Haseul felt herself be transported back to their adolescence, back when she had first realised she had a bit of a crush on Jinsoul.

She didn’t remember the exact moment when she realised she liked the blonde as something more than a friend. But she recalled the instance that she realised _Sooyoung_ was into Jinsoul like it was tattooed in her brain forever.

_Jinsoul and Haseul were sitting together at the lunch table, heads bent together over the small tablet the girl had smuggled into the school. Haseul was aware that, as class president, she should confiscate the device; but… it was Jinsoul._

_As far as Haseul was concerned, Jinsoul could get away with murder._

_The girl was the kind of beautiful that had people double taking when they walked past her, coupled with an innocent and sunny disposition that had people doubling over in their efforts to make her happy. She was more than a little mischievous, but never malevolent, and the cocktail of the different sides of her personality made her Haseul’s_ exact _type._

_“See?” called Jinsoul, and Haseul blinked away from where she had been staring at her and daydreaming. “It has to be a glitch of some sort. Everytime I try to skip over this bit-”_

_Haseul rolled her eyes. “Soul, you’re asking the wrong person. You know I don’t game, or whatever the hell that code is for. Is it even legal?”_

_The other pouted at her, but before she could answer - or probably deflect - Sooyoung dropped on the seat in front of them, her patented smirk in place and a basketball cap backwards on her head._

_“No caps around the school,” immediately reprimanded Haseul, even though her words had no heat in them._

_Sooyoung was her best friend, and, unlike Jinsoul, she was an utter menace. She saw school rules as some sort of guideline at best, and never shied away from seeing how hard she could push before something snapped. She was, quite possible, the most charismatic and popular girl in the school, and while in another life, she could have possibly been the Usui to her Misaki, they were friends. And they cared enough about each other that Sooyoung wouldn’t undermine her in front of people and Haseul only imposed her will as class president when teachers were around, and otherways ignored her behaviour._

_“Soosoo!” said Jinsoul immediately straightening up as Sooyoung pulled off the cap. “You need to help me, Seul is being mean to me.”_

_Haseul rolled her eyes a little, because that, as well, wasn’t too new. Jinsoul was pretty aware of her image of ‘pure, innocent, aw shucks’ girl and never shied away from abusing it to get what she wanted._

_Both Haseul and Sooyoung were - mostly - immune to it, and normally ignored it. Even though lately, because of her huge crush on the other girl, Haseul relented more often than not, Sooyoung remained stoic and only helped if she cared enough._

_So, Haseul expected an eye roll, or a flick of her fingers against Jinsoul’s head or even a ‘lemme eat my lunch, first’ from her best friend. She expected exasperation mixed with fondness, a refusal that wasn’t quite a refusal, something like that._

_She didn’t expect the small smile Sooyoung gave her, or the way Sooyoung eyes twinkled when she said “For you? Always,”. She didn’t expect the way her expression didn’t change even as Jinsoul grinned at her and stuck her tongue at Haseul and moved to sit next to her as she passed her table._

_She didn’t expect the way they sat next to each other, shoulder to shoulder and sharing little smiles as Sooyoung helped her through the glitch._

_She didn’t expect any of that, which was why Haseul was about 100% sure that this was the exact second Sooyoung fell in love with Jinsoul._

Haseul shook her head a little, trying to disperse the memory and hiding a grimace behind the donut she was munching on. 

It didn’t hurt, not anymore, but it still wasn’t a pleasant memory. Because, from that day, from the moment she had realised that Sooyoung was crushing or was already in love with Jinsoul, she knew it was over.

She wasn’t being dramatic; she simply knew it was bound to happen.

Jinsoul and Sooyoung were like two halves of a whole; they were _that_ couple in every rom com, the endgame couple.

Jinsoul was the humanities student with a penchant for singing. She was incredibly smart - smarter than Haseul - pretty in an almost princess like manner. She was the epitome of beauty and innocent, couldn’t cook to save her life, but had every man in school bending over to do her bidding; if Haseul was to give her a trope, she would be the _good_ bisexual blonde cheerleader.

Sooyoung was the jock queen of the school who also loved dancing, no matter the type of dancing. She wasn’t dumb, but academics weren’t _that_ interesting to her. She was charisma and girl crush, most sought after lesbian in the entire school. Every girl in the school - and Haseul could deny it till the end of the Earth, but she had appreciated her for a bit, before they became friends - had at some point had a crush on her, and she _knew_ ; as a trope, she was the hot jock that, once you got to know them, wasn’t as himbo as you thought they were.

They made sense together, much more sense than Haseul and Jinsoul together could ever make. It had hurt so much, back then, when she had made that realisation: because how unfair was it? Sooyoung had everyone in school lining up for her, she could literally point at a straight girl and ask her out and the girl would say _yes_.

And out of all the people she could pick, she had picked _Jinsoul_. It had hurt a lot back then, right until her life was turned upside down with her parent’s accident, and having an unrequited crush wasn’t that important anymore.

“Seul?” called Sooyoung, and the younger girl blinked owlishly at her best friend.

That was in the past, though. Things were different now, things were - at least for Haseul - better. 

She offered her friend a shit eating grin. “Nothing, just musing about how _I_ am the only one with a more or less adjusted adult relationship in this room.”

Jinsoul gave her a mulish look. “You didn’t even know you were dating Vivi up to a like two months ago.”

“And now we are together, happy, and gay,” her grin grew, “meanwhile you’re stuck in the conundrum of ‘she’s hot and the sex is good, but is she a nice person’ and Sooyoung is pining for a girl she took out on a fake date. It’s amazing how the mighty have fallen.”

Sooyoung pouted, but Jinsoul blinked intrigued and confused in equal measure. “Pining?”

The pout grew even more at her friend’s question. “I am not exactly sure where it came from, but… yeah.” She let out a soft groan and laid down on the covered ground. “This is not how things go. I don’t _do_ crushes, not since… well, you.”

Jinsoul didn’t appear in the slightest uncomfortable at her words. She narrowed her eyes at her friend, thoughtful. “I don’t know if I should find that flattering on my behalf or if I should be worried about your emotional capabilities.” She shook her head, coming to lay on her stomach next to her. “No matter. Tell me who.”

Sooyoung let out a little huff, seeming to consider the pros and cons of answering truthfully for a moment before just shrugging. “Jiwoo.”

The blonde stared at her for a few seconds. Blinked. Stared for a few more seconds. Turned to Haseul.

Haseul’s vindictive grin was firmly in place.

Jinsoul - none too gently - smacked her forehead on the ground. “How is this our life?”

* * *

“My point is,” said Yeojin with a small frown, “Oedipus never really stood a chance! It’s not like he had made it his mission to sleep with his mother - in fact he had done everything in his power to _not do that_. The ancient ones and his family were the dicks who caused all of his problems. It wasn’t his fault.”

Yerim blinked at her friend for a second. “I just asked if you wanted another drink,” said the purple haired girl shaking her head, albeit a little fond. “Although I think you’ve had quite enough, at this point.”

Both her and the younger girl had happened to have the next day free and decided to spend it doing what they did best - party. A friend of Yerim from college had invited her to the small get together - because calling it a house party was just a lie - and Yeojin had been the only one available.

Hyejoo had been busy with… whatever it was that Hyejoo did when she wasn’t with them, and Chaewon had been working on… whatever it was that Chaewon worked on. Uh, Yerim really should start paying a little bit more attention to her friends.

Yeojin gave her a small pout, “I’m just tipsy and needed to vent, come on. We _should_ get some more drinks.”

“Nope,” firmly stated the older girl, unimpressed. “I’m not carrying your ass back home _drunk_. Haseul might like me but she’d kill me.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“Drunk you is _worse_ than a kid.”

The shorter girl made a grumbling noise, and turned her attention to where the party was still in full swing. She made to say something, when a familiar face caught her attention.

She frowned. “Is that Hyunjin?” 

Yerim followed her gaze, and her eyes widened slightly when she spotted the older girl dancing lightly with a beer in her hands. Her red hair was flowing around as she moved, and, in a black leather jacket over a white turtleneck and a flowy short black skirt, she looked perfectly in her element.

“It _is_ ,” finally agreed the girl, still watching her.

To be quite honest, Hyunjin was a bit of a question mark to Yerim. She was aware that the girl had quickly become sort of frenemies with Yeojin and that Vivi was also particularly close to her. Heejin and Chaewon were also kind of close to her - at least from what Yerim had observed.

But she found it a little hard to settle what her _honest_ opinion on the girl was. Sure, they had spend time together before, but it was almost like every time she saw her, Hyunjin had a different mask on. It was a little like she would only _let_ you see what _she_ wanted you to see. For someone like Yerim, who was an open book to everyone and anyone, the girl was a little strange.

But her general opinion so far was that she was okay. She was friendly and, at the very least, the mask she insisted on wearing around Yerim and most of the people in the complex was one that didn’t grate too much.

“Hey, Hyunjin!” called out Yeojin, waving her hand and trying to catch the girl’s attention over the loud music.

Yerim wondered if, perhaps, she slid off her mask when she was around Yeojin, because - despite how much she complained every time Hyunjin called her to go out and run with her - the younger girl seemed to genuinely like her.

Which made Yerim’s protective instincts flare up because Yeojin was the baby of their group and no one was allowed to hurt her. 

The girl, with that unnerving spatial awareness she seemed to have, immediately found them, blinking at them in surprise. When Yeojin waved her over she made a big show of rolling her eyes, even as she came to stand closer to them.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked, pulling a strand of hair behind her ear and taking a large swing of her beer. 

Yeojin pointed at Yerim. “Friend’s party. You?”

Hyunjin appeared even more surprised than a few moments before. “You know Seoyeon?”

“We go to the same school,” explained Yerim. “How do _you_ know her?”

Hyunjin’s face made a complicated expression before she sighed. “Family friend,” She simply said.

Yerim wanted to pry a little, because Hyunjin almost never volunteered information about herself, but she refrained herself. Instead she gave the girl a little smirk. “Wouldn’t have pegged you for the party type.”

Hyunjin snorted, now sipping her drink more cautiously as she leant backwards between the two of them. “Normally, I’m not. Just…” again, the complicated expression on her face. “Too much in my head, lately. This seemed fun, I know the host, so I thought why not. You?”

“Boredom,” immediately answered Yeojin, snatching the drink from Hyunjin’s hands. “You’re a pretty good dancer.”

Hyunjin didn’t complain about the stolen drink, instead smirking. “If you think that’s dancing, then I’m just sorry for you.”

Yerim snorted, while Yeojin just stared at her with narrowed eyes. “I don’t know if you’re being self deprecating or if you’re insulting me. But I do not like it, Kim. Not one bit.” She put the beer down and stood up, a little unstable on her feet. “But watch and learn.”

+

As they walked out of the party, Yerim couldn’t help but shake her head fondly at the two other girls. “I cannot believe you two decided to dance _battle_ in the middle of the party.”

Yeojin snickered, and Hyunjin's normal face of polite disinterest had long now melted into undignified mirth and mischief. 

“You should have joined us, Yerim,” said the red haired girl, laughing at Yerim’s unimpressed expression. 

“I have some self respect,” she grumbled. “Also, I wasn’t drunk enough. I am sure you guys thought you were doing _something_ , but you were not even dancing on beat.”

“The form is all that matters,” told her the oldest of the trio, smirking. “And when it comes to form, I have Yeojin beat.”

Yeojin rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t matter, I know more dances,” she made a praying gesture and sent a kiss to the sky. “Thank you kpop and fortnite gods!”

Hyunjin actually snorted at that, and Yerim grinned too, before turning an interested glance at her. “Where did _you_ learn to dance, anyway?”

“I was born and raised in Seoul, where there are possibly more kpop companies than there are cinemas,” explained Hyunjin, shrugging. “Plus, I went to SOPA.”

That… was not what Yerim had expected. Still, she couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Oh dear, we have a possible _proper_ Seoul socialite here, don’t we?” she teased.

Hyunjin didn’t appear annoyed - for a second, Yerim had worried she had gone too far - simply rolling her eyes at the comment with a “You have _no_ idea.” Then she shrugged. “I mostly just like sports, and dancing? It’s a sport at the end of the day.”

“Oh yeah, you do like sports,” said Yeojin, probably recalling the day her and Heejin had joined them at the gym for that sports day thing. “Kind of annoying that you’re good at everything.”

“Aw,” said Hyunjin, grinning a razor sharp smile at her. “You think I’m good at everything, little Yeojinnie?”

The shorter girl didn’t take the bait. “Allright, fuck you, then,” she said instead, but her lips twitched slightly when Hyunjin let out a little cackle at that.

Yerim wondered, for a moment, _why_ had Hyunjin moved in the apartment if everything seemed to point to her being - if not rich - very comfortable with money. Hell, Yerim wasn’t even sure if Hyunjin had a _job_. She was born and bred in Seoul by her own admission, and Yerim remembered her bags when she had moved in that first day. 

There weren’t that many, but, unlike Jiwoo or Chaewon’s, they were brand new. And everytime she met her, Hyunjin looked all pretty and proper, like it was a lesson that had been ingrained in her since birth.

Why choose an old building and agree to share one apartment with four other girls she didn’t even know when everything else pointed to her being able to afford much better?

“Next time,” was saying Yeojin, as Yerim tuned back into the conversation, “you get invited to a party, you should totally invite us. I’m tired of having to join you out running every morning with no reward.”

“No reward?” questioned Hyunjin, voice mock offended. “Give back those forming muscles, then!”

“I didn’t ask for abs, though, did I?”

“You’re welcome,” informed her the red haired girl, sending a wink in Yerim’s direction.

Yerim jumped on it. “Yeah, Yeojin, Hyunjin is taking time from her schedule to help you with your self care. You should be grateful.”

“Yeah, Yeojin!”

“What is happening!” complained the girl, glaring at the two of them, and pouting when Hyunjin cackles mixed with Yerim giggles. “You two are assholes. I should have never allowed you to meet.”

Yerim stifled a giggle and arched an eyebrow. “Are you aware that you live downstairs and we are neighbours? You have _no_ idea what we’ve been planning for you.”

Yeojin’s eye twitched. “Part of me _knows_ you’re joking, but I felt a genuine shiver of fear just now. Please spare me?”

Hyunjin opened her mouth - probably to mock further - but suddenly a confused, exasperated and something else expression settled over her face, before it turned back to her usual polite blankness.

Yerim followed her gaze, noticing that they had finally arrived back to the apartment. But that wasn’t what Hyunjin was looking at; no, Hyunjin’s gaze was on the two girls standing in front of the apartment, enveloped in each other arms as they exchanged soft laughs and kisses.

“Get a room!” heckled Yeojin, hopping up the stairs that lead to the outside foyer.

Heejin jumped in surprise, but then rolled her eyes slightly when she saw who it was. “Isn’t the foyer, technically, a room?”

Ryujin laughed a little at that, making no move of letting go of her.

“Only if you want to be booked for public indecency,” told her Hyunjin, looking at both of them, unimpressed.

Her voice though, had a strange tilt to it that Yerim wasn’t quite capable of decoding.

“My fault,” apologised Ryujin. “I can’t seem to get enough of her.”

“Aw, how cute,” said Hyunjin, tonelessly, making both Yerim and Yeojin snort and Heejin stick out a tongue at her. “I’ll leave the door open, Heejin?”

“Yeah, than-” said the other, the rest of her words swallowed from the door closing behind the trio. 

Once the main door was closed again, Hyunjin turned to them even as she started up the stairs. “Anyone wants more drinks?”

Yerim shoved all worries aside, following the girl immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this chapter isn't up to your standards, especially after like a fucking month of waiting. ill try to do better but im just ugh. idk im just ugh ugh sorry. thanks for reading tho, ill try to do better!
> 
> jinsoul: talks about sleeping with jungeun  
> haseul, under her breath: it ain't my fault you came in looking like that, you just made me trip, fall, and land on your lap  
> jinsoul: no  
> sooyoung, louder: certain bad boy smooth, body hotter than a sauna, I don't mean to be rude, but I look so damn good on ya  
> jinsoul: stop that  
> sooyoung and jinsoul: Baby, one, two, three, your body's calling me and I know wherever you're at  
> Is exactly where I wanna be, IT AIN'T MY FAULLLT


	17. week seventeen: the one with valentine's day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentine's Day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is one of the chapters i had in my mind since before i started this fic lol
> 
> also im a literature student and im TOTALLY projecting on hyunjin here

Kim Hyunjin had never been a romantic: at least not in the modern interpretation of the word. Kissing under the rain, running after a train trying to get a last glimpse of the one you loved, looking up at the stars and dreaming about the red string of fate… those were things she had never really stopped and thought about.

Hyunjin had grown up with the  _ other  _ definition of romance; the study of the individual against the sublime of nature, the unstoppable human craving of the past. She had grown up with three different types of spoon at every meal, a private tutor who came after school to teach her more about the arts and a competitive streak that her parents made sure to cultivate to insane degrees.

Long story short, Hyunjin had grown up spoiled with the sheer amount of choices she had and yet corralled by rules she couldn’t break; her parents had been romantics in the original meaning of the word, and had made sure their - albeit archaic - values were transferred onto their daughter.

Vivi, however, was a romantic in the modern sense of the word. And she was one of the few people who  _ knew  _ Hyunjin - or at least who acted like they knew Hyunjin.

Which was how the younger girl found herself at the  _ ‘Valentine Heart’s Workshop’  _ glaring down at the chocolate pieces in her bowl. 

“Why am I even here?” she grumbled, sparing a little scowl at the pink haired girl next to her.

Vivi just grinned, making sure her apron was properly tied. “Because you looked bored when I came to check if I left my coat at your place, and I wanted to give Haseul a properly romantic gift for Valentine’s Day.”

Hyunjin’s mother would cry if she heard the word romantic being tossed around like this. 

Vivi gave her a considering look as Hyunjin popped a chocolate chip in her mouth. “Do you have a date for Valentine?”

Hyunjin levelled Vivi with a look, a raised eyebrow. “I don’t even  _ like  _ Valentine’s Day. If I had a gir-  _ date,  _ I would make sure they knew we were  _ not  _ celebrating this holiday. Did you know,” she then continued, eating up a second chip, “that Valentine’s Day wasn’t even supposed to be a day about love? It was mostly a coming of spring fest. The name ‘Valentine’ comes from a saint who defied the Roman Emperor of the time and was sentenced to death unjustly, and - why are you smiling like that?”

Vivi, who had tried to hide her very big smile behind her hair gave up, letting out a huff of laughter. “It’s like hearing Yeojin talk. You guys are pretty similar.”

Right, Yeojin was also a huge literature nerd like her. Well, Hyunjin resented the term nerd so more like, Yeojin was as culturally interested and history and literature versed as she was.

Vivi continued talking, turning her mini stove on and putting down her butter. “I am so glad that you and her are friends, by the way. I know I have no need to thank you since you didn’t do it for me, but still:  _ thank you _ . She really likes you.”

Now it was Hyunjin’s turn to hide behind her hair as she finally got started on her own chocolate, ignoring any instruction the leader of the workshop was giving.

The people Hyunjin had been surrounded by growing up had never been her first choices. She had been basically  _ forced  _ in their company by birthright - or something less pretentious.

Now that she had the  _ chance  _ of choosing who she wanted to surround herself with… 

“I like Yeojin too,” she finally admitted, even as she refused to make eye contact with Vivi. “She’s nice.”

“And Chaewon and Heejin too, right?”

This time Hyunjin did raise her head, narrowing her eyes in Vivi’s direction. Who didn’t notice, too busy melting down her chocolate and mixing with other ingredients - what  _ was  _ she making?.

“Yeah,” finally said the younger girl, still glancing at her friend a little wary. “Chaewon is nice to sit around and drink with. And she’s insanely funny. And Heejin,”

Where to start with Jeon Heejin?

Since the very beginning Heejin and Hyunjin had clashed. Heejin didn’t seem to have been raised to appreciate the arts in the manner Hyunjin had, but despite that, she had the heart of an artist.

In humanities driven subjects, Hyunjin had all the theory in her mind, but Heejin had the practice. If Hyunjin learnt by being taught, Heejin picked up her skills as she went. 

Hyunjin felt like she had been spoon fed everything from the moment she was born, and formed her opinions on things after being offere d a finite number of options from those around her.

Heejin, from what Hyunjin could tell, had learn through trial and error. She formulated her opinions and ideas from what effect the infinite options around made on her. 

While before that had annoyed Hyunjin to no end, she had grown to find it fascinating. To finding  _ Heejin  _ fascinating. 

Hyunjin had been able to try and find what her passion was only after basically fleeing from her family. She was looking for a job she didn’t really need because she didn’t know what she  _ wanted _ .

Heejin knew  _ exactly  _ what she wanted. She wanted to draw, to make art. And she fought tooth and nail to find something to do with art, until she found that job at the jewellery. 

She was so stubborn and yet so lively, Hyunjin felt herself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. She seemed like the ditzy artsy type, but she was incredibly sharp and observant to the point that many - mostly Jiwoo and Jungeun - wondered if she had telepathic abilities.

The only puzzle that Heejin claimed she couldn’t solve - during Christmas break, when Heejin, Hyunjin and Chaewon were alone in their apartment - was Hyunjin herself.

But now Ryujin was there, and Hyunjin… Hyunjin  _ liked  _ Ryujin, all right? They had become fast friends after the sports thing. She was funny and as competitive as she was, and Hyunjin enjoyed talking to her.

So Hyunjin liked her.

And yet, seeing her around Heejin all the time, seeing her kiss Heejin like that, seeing them together… it provoked uncomfortable feelings in Hyunjin that the girl did not want to address. 

“Heejin is nice too,” she finally finished, preparing her own cookie cutters for the chocolate.

Vivi grinned, still not looking up. “They are, aren’t day? Say, if they are both single, you should share your chocolates with them and spend Valentine’s with them. It will be a bonding thing. You’ll get closer!”

The red haired girl arched an eyebrow at her friend. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to set up a play date for me or something?”

Finally Vivi looked up, a little guilty expression on her face. Then she sighed, mixing the red dye with her chocolate. “Look, H. I know that the last time you saw me was before me and your brother got married, and you barely remember me; and I didn’t even recognise you when we saw each other that first time.

“But now I do recognise you, and I remember you. We might not have been friends before, but we were family. And we can  _ still  _ be family, no matter what’s up with me and Jinnie. I love you, and I care about you. And I remember how lonely you were, growing up.”

Hyunjin avoided her eyes, but Vivi refused to let the conversation go. “I have a similar background to yours, you know? So I know how hard it. I know why you never tell anyone about yourself, why you jump jobs like it’s a sport and keep odd hours that no one in the building can track. 

“I found a job I loved, and then I had Yeojin and Haseul helping me out. And then, I let Sooyoung and Jinsoul in. And then Yerim and Hyejoo.” She smiled a little. “Did you know that I have a groupchat with Haseul, Chaewon and Heejin in which we talk movies? And Jiwoo is my unofficial taster whenever Yeojin is not around?

“I don’t want you alone, Hyunjin. I want you to make friends, to get to know us, to let everyone get to know  _ you _ . The  _ real  _ Kim Hyunjin, the one you have always kept hidden from everyone else.”

The red haired girl ignored the way her heart was pounding in her chest. Because what could she say to that?

~~ I don’t know how to make friends. ~~

~~ I don’t know how to be normal. ~~

~~ I don’t know where the mask ends and I begin.  ~~

~~ I don’t know who I am. ~~

She didn’t answer, but Vivi seemed to understand nevertheless.

“By the way, did I tell you what Haseul is planning for our first Valentine together?”

* * *

Kim Jiwoo liked Valentine’s Day. Scratch that, she  _ loved  _ Valentine’s Day.

A whole day dedicated to nothing but eating chocolate, exchanging cute cards and presents with the people you loved the most, a whole day dedicated to  _ love _ ? That was right up her alley.

That being said, however, this year’s Valentine’s Day was… rather underwhelming.

Although she was in the midst of having her contract drawn up with those in charge, she still worked at the coffee shop meanwhile. And of course, Valentine’s Day didn’t really mean much to small random coffee shop.

There were some hearts plastered on the windows, and the coffee designs of hearts had been taught to all staff in case some customer demanded it, but other than that? It was just another day.

Back in the ye old day - basically the year before - Jiwoo was used to being popular. She wasn’t arrogant about it, at least she didn’t think so. It was just something she had become used to.

Her classmates always made a point of wishing her a happy Valentine’s Day, some even offering chocolates, and her Instagram DMs were always flooded with people asking if she wanted to be their Valentine.

She had gone out with someone  _ once,  _ but still, she had enjoyed the festivity.

And perhaps some part of her had expected that, with it being Seoul, one of the most popular locations in South Korea, and with her being her usual bubbly persona, it would be the same.

But none of her coworkers seemed to care about the day, and the few customers who smiled and answered her ‘Have a nice Valentine’s!’ were couples. Everyone else ignored her.

It was quite depressing.

God she hated her job, and she couldn’t wait until she could comfortably hand over her two weeks notice. Still, she maintained her friendly demeanour throughout the day, ignoring the annoyed expressions of some of the customers.

A few hours later she was finally back at the apartment, tired and disappointed.

“I’m home!” she called out, closing the door behind her and dragging her feet to the couch.

“Hi Jiwoo!” called out Heejin and Chaewon together, the first perched on one side of the couch and the other clicking away on her laptop from the loveseat.

Hyunjin made a gesture, eyes trained on the television, and Jungeun’s head popped out from the bedroom door. “Hey, Chuu.”

She made a noise that could technically be a greeting, and her best friend huffed a laugh. 

“Bad day?”

Jiwoo made another noise, and Jungeun rolled her eyes. “Well, luckily for you I have a plan for improving it.”

Jiwoo turned her head, focusing her eyes on the girl, narrowing them slightly. “What are you planning.”

Jungeun finally pulled away from the door and showed off a pair of her heels. “Night out!”

At this the red head raised up her head, surprised. “You have a date?”

“As if I have the  _ time _ ,” pointed the other, rolling her eyes. “No; night out for you and me.”

Jiwoo pretended to be apologetic. “I’m really sorry, Lip, I just don’t see you that w-” she laughed before she could finish, moving to avoid the book her best friend had thrown at her. “Abuse!”

“You’re an ass, Kim Jiwoo.” complained Jungeun, ignoring her grin. “But. I was uh, wondering if maybe the five of us can I don’t know hit up a bar if we’re all free. I haven’t been to a karaoke bar in a while. We can go drinking and singing.”

Chaewon looked up from her laptop. “You’re inviting us too?”

Jungeun shrugged. “We live together but, at least I, don’t spend that much time together, and I thought uh, it would be nice to get to know you all better.”

Jiwoo felt a pang of fondness and pride for her best friend. Jungeun wasn’t emotionally stunted or anything; normally, in fact, she was quite adept at making friends.

But with everything that was going on around them, it was clear that she had been having a hard time.

“I’m coming for sure,” she agreed immediately, swearing to herself to pay more attention to her best friend from now on. Lately things seemed to be very one sided with them, and it wasn’t the way they used to be and it wasn’t the way Jiwoo liked them. Friendship was a two way street, and between the new job, the singing gig, her bubbling friendship with Sooyoung, and everything else, she had sort of left Jungeun behind. “It’ll be great!”

Jungeun smiled back, but Chaewon frowned. “I wish you had told us before. Hyejoo has been sick sick - fever - so me, Yerim and Yeojin have promised to stay with her and watch terrible horror movies with her.” She let out a frustrated sound. “I wanted to come to karaoke!”

Heejin shook her head, apologetic. “I’d love to, but I have a date,” she smiled a little. “Ryujin said that she was-”

“I’m free,” interrupted Hyunjin, not looking away from the television. “What bar and how much alcohol are we talking?”

Heejin glared at the back of the other girl’s head, but Jungeun looked happy that someone else had agreed to come. “Haven’t decided for sure, yet, but since it’s the night of love and all, I’m thinking cheap but not shoddy.”

“I know just the place,” said Hyunjin, pulling herself up and pulling out her phone.

As they spoke to each other, retiring in the bedroom, Jiwoo turned her attention back on the two girls in the living room. Chaewon had put on a pair of earphones as she worked, but Heejin was staring at the door of Jungeun and Jiwoo’s bedroom with a strange expression.

She jumped a little when Jiwoo put her head on her lap, but didn’t push the girl off. “Penny for your thoughts?”

Heejin quickly glanced at Chaewon, then chewed on her lower lip, considering. Then, she shrugged. “I don’t think Hyunjin likes me very much.”

Jiwoo quirked an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“She has been rather… short with me, lately. Not as open as before, you know?”

The red haired girl frowned. “I have not known Hyunjin to be… open with anyone,”

Heejin grimaced again. “Well… we had a some sort of breakthrough around Christmas. We got drunk, me, her and Chae, remember?” At Jiwoo’s nod, she deflated. “We drank together and ordered fried chicken, and she has a very dry sense of humor and she’s… kind of weird actually, she laughs at the oddest stuff. And yeah, we argued, but it was bantering, mostly.

“But now, it’s all gone. She is close to Yeojin, and lately I’ve seen her hang around Yerim too, and she went out with Vivi yesterday. And whenever I see her with them, she’s relaxed, calm and annoying just like at Christmas.

“But when she’s with me it’s like…” Heejin thought for a second, searching for word. “Like she’s… I don’t know, cold? She’s not rude, she’s not mean, but she doesn’t argue with me like she used to anymore, and it’s downright polite and civil. 

“But she feels… distant.” She made another face, shaking her head. “She’s being normally cordial with me and I’m losing my mind.”

Jiwoo would be the first to admit that, as friendly as she was, Hyunjin was the one she was the  _ least  _ close to. No bad feelings or anything: simply, the girl wasn’t around when Jiwoo was around, and thus their conversations were somewhat stilted. 

Still, Hyunjin had seemed nice enough. She remembered her giving Heejin her jacket because the girl was cold, and the way she had once seen her putting a blanket over Chaewon because she fallen asleep on the loveseat. 

“Have you tried, I don’t know…  _ talking  _ to her?”

Her perfectly valid question was met by an unimpressed stare. “As  _ if _ . What do you expect me to write a note and say “DO YOU LIKE ME? CIRCLE YES OR NO” or something? We’re not in middle school.”

“But if you feel like-”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m probably overthinking everything,” she said, waving a hand like she was dispelling the bad thoughts. “It’s just that, with you and Jungeun conjoined to the hip, and the way Chaewon has latched on Hyejoo, I thought that maybe me and her could become friends, the way you guys were. With just a lot more arguing or something. I don’t know.”

Jiwoo grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently. “Maybe something is happening in her life. We don’t know anything about her or her family, after all. Maybe she’s going through something.”

A flicker of hope went through Heejin’s face and she nodded, slowly. “Maybe. I’ll just… kind of wait. And see if something changes.”

_ And if nothing changes, then you should really talk to her _ , wanted to add Jiwoo, but she knew she shouldn’t push. Instead she focused on something else. “So, what  _ are  _ your plans for Valentine’s with your girlfriend?”

Heejin lit up.

+++

It’s around 7 when Hyunjin finally walked out of her bedroom, dressed to  _ impress  _ and  _ depress  _ both. Chaewon had left a few hours before to go to Yeojin’s place, and Heejin was already gone too.

Jiwoo let out a particularly high wolf whistle when she stepped out in a pair of baggy jeans and crop top hidden under a figure hiding oversized leather jacket. “Oh-oh, Kim Hyunjin, ladies and gentlemen!”

Jungeun snickered, her fisherman hat hiding her face a little. “Are you  _ trying  _ to outclass us all?”

Hyunjin grinned back, running a hand through her hair. “It’s like a disease, I’m sorry. I can’t do  _ anything  _ without it looking super fashionable.” She informed them.

Jiwoo grabbed her shoes, rolling her eyes at the other girl. “Is that why you spent almost an hour doing your hair and make up?”

“The fact that you are timing me…” trailed off the youngest, enjoying the pout that immediately formed on Jiwoo’s face.

“Must you always have the last word?”

“Do any other words matter?” fired back Hyunjin, grin growing further.

Jungeun shook her head a little fondly, coming to stand between the two of them. “Now, now, girls. It’s Valentine’s Day! We are supposed to be all lovey dovey with each other and all!”

“Right!” trilled Jiwoo, finally done with her shoes. She stepped outside, pulling the other two girls with her. “But we all know the rules. We don’t go home with any girl or guy or non binary buddy or anyone else. We come back with who we went out with.”

Her best friend had the nerve of rolling her eyes. “It was just one time, Chuu. Let it go!”

“When someone like you, Lip, makes a mistake, you hold on to it till the end of times.” She turned to Hyunjin, “Wanna hear about it?”

Before the red head could answer, a figure nearly slammed into them as she climbed the stairs. Only Jiwoo’s surprisingly quick reflexes stopped them from colliding with-

“Heekkie?” she questioned, frowning.

Heejin, who had been looking at her feet and thus not noticed them, looked up. Her face was slightly flushed, and her eyes were wet, even though she wasn’t crying (anymore?). “Oh. Hi, girls.”

Jungeun shared a look with Hyunjin, then turned back to the other. “Are you okay?”

The dark haired girl disentangled from Jiwoo’s hand and neatly side stepped the trio. “I’m fine, no worries. See you guys later, have a nice night!” she fired, immediately running up the stairs.

Jiwoo and Jungeun shared confused expressions with each other, while Hyunjin stared at the point Heejin had disappeared from.

“Do you think something happened?” wondered Jiwoo aloud, biting her lower lip. “Maybe she shouldn’t-”

“I’ll go,” said Hyunjin all of a sudden, climbing up a stair and looking back Jiwoo and Jungeun. “You guys go enjoy your day out, you already have the name of the place, and if I can, I’ll meet you there. But I’m Heejin’s… friend, so I should check up on her.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t come too?” asked Jungeun, a little worried.

Hyunjin quickly shook her head. “Too many people at once might feel like an inquisition or an intervention rather than someone wanting to be there for her. Don’t worry, I know how to deal with this.”

In the end, it took a few more minutes before she convinced the two best friends to go have fun and she walked back into the apartment.

Heejin was sitting on the couch, shoes and all, when Hyunjin came into view. She had a tissue in her hand, but she wiped her face with her hand when she saw Hyunjin walking in, turning her face away from the other girl.

“What are you doing here? I told you I was fine!”

Hyunjin ignored her words, dropping her heels at the door - note to self: move shoes back into bedroom before Jungeun came back - and headed into the kitchen. She heard Heejin grumbling something, and yet again ignored the black haired girl, busying herself with her task. 

A few seconds later she was back in the living room, precariously holding a bottle, two glasses almost filled with ice and a small box that she dropped on the table.

Heejin glanced at it and frowned at Hyunjin. “What?” Her eyes were a little puffy and still wet, and she had a lash stuck on her cheek.

Without consciously thinking about it, Hyunjin’s hand moved, thumbing away the lash even as Heejin stilled. She forced her expression to remain calm, zen and blank, and opened the box. “Chocolate? I made it yesterday with Vi.”

Heejin was looking at her curiously, but nodded slowly, picking up a piece of chocolate. Hyunjin refused to be one of those girls who always needed to hear others’ opinion when she gave them something she made, and instead poured the drinks in the glass, right over the ice cubes she had placed inside.

Then she pushed one glass on Heejin’s side, picked her own, turned the television on and put her feet on the coffee table.

She could see the other girl staring at her from the corner of her eyes, but she ignored her, instead focusing on the piece of chocolate in her own hands. Look at that, turns out she was good at making sweets too.

“Are you not going to ask me?” finally questioned Heejin almost five minutes later.

Hyunjin glanced away from the television - she had no idea what she had been watching, to be honest - and arched an eyebrow at Heejin. “Do you want me to ask? Drink your tea.”

The older girl blinked, picking up her own glass and taking a swing. Then she coughed, chocking a little, and Hyunjin snorted. 

“You said it was  _ tea _ !” complained Heejin, red in the face once she had managed to breathe again.

“It is,” reassured Hyunjin, even though it was particularly hard to hide her shit eating grin from her face. “Tea… quila.”

Heejin glared at her, the sadness of before momentarily leaving her face. Good. “You’re an ass.”

“At your service,” mock curtsied the other, passing her the box again. “Chocolate?”

She accepted it with more enthusiasm than before. “Thank you. It’s really good.”

“I know,” said Hyunjin, voice haughty. “There is very little I am unable to do.”

Heejin rolled her eyes, but her voice was fond when she spoke. “I’ve noticed.”

What was  _ that  _ supposed to mean? Hyunjin eyed her from behind the glass of tequila, wondering if it was a hidden insult or if Heejin had been… watching her long enough to notice that Hyunjin was talented.

That would have been… weird and strange.

Hyunjin found herself hoping that Heejin  _ had  _ been watching her, feeling slightly flattered at the thought.

“Ryujin stood me up,” suddenly said the other girl. The red head turned to glance at her face, but Heejin was staring at her tequila with a frown. “We were supposed to meet at this cool restaurant at six, but she never showed up. And never answered her phone.”

Hyunjin… wasn’t quite sure how to answer that. Was she supposed to curse Ryujin’s name? Was she supposed to defend Ryujin? Reassure Heejin? Tell Heejin to break up with the other girl? 

Some of those options sounded more appealing than others, but none of them sounded _right_. She was, slightly… _fond_ , if you will, of Ryujin. They were somewhat close, and had the same competitive strike in them. She was funny and cool, and at one point Hyunjin thought they might become friends.

Now? She wasn’t quite sure.

And doing anything that might end up with separating Heejin from Ryujin sounded appealing and yet  _ wrong _ . She didn’t want to consider why that particular team up made her want to grit her teeth together, but it did. But the thought of facilitating or encouraging that break up made a voice in her head - that sounded suspiciously like Vivi - bristle in righteous anger and disappointment.

So, instead of replying to what Heejin said, she squinted at the television. “Doesn’t that girl look a little bit like Jungeun?”

Heejin blinked away from her and stared at the television. Then she frowned. “Yura?”

Hyunjin kept her face blank. “Is she a friend of yours?”

The dark haired girl gasped, putting down her glass and staring at Hyunjin. “Hello? Yura? Kim Ah-Young from Girl’s Day?”

“Which is…” she asked, expression not changing.

The other girl looked like she was having an aneurysm. “Are you  _ kidding _ me? You don’t know who Girl’s Day is?!” She stood abruptly, grabbing her bag from the floor and pulling out her phone. “They are like one of the best groups  _ ever _ , they debuted like three years after Sunmi. You don’t know them?”

Hyunjin turned and smirked. “Guess I shouldn’t ‘ _ look into your eyes and lie again’ _ ,” she sang, actually snickering when Heejin sighed, relieved and slightly annoyed.

“You have a good poker face, I’ll give you that,” relented the other girl, playing the song. 

Both girl kept humming along, eating chocolate and drinking the liquor, shoulder to shoulder to each other. Hyunjin wasn’t quite sure when they had ended up so close to each other, but she wasn’t going to  _ complain _ . It felt comfortable, and if this was alleviating Heejin’s earlier sad mood in any way, well then it was worth it, right? That was what friends were for.

Plus, she felt warm.

The television was on, but neither of the girls was really paying attention, humming along to every song with Hyunjin taking any chance she got to disapprove of Heejin’s music.

“It’s a  _ good  _ song!”

“Oh yea, so inspirational,” cracked Hyunjin, a single raised eyebrow. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, and then shawty, shawty, shawty, shawty. Not even an English teacher could make them sound profound.”

“Hey, sometimes it’s okay that a song doesn’t have a meaning-”

“I refuse to let you steal that excuse for a  _ Super Junior _ song from like the Ice Age-”

The sound of the doorbell ringing stopped the argument from spiralling further. 

“Chaewon?” wondered Hyunjin, turning her head towards the main hallway. “The door is open!”

Heejin gave her a disapproving look. “Why would you leave the door open? What if a criminal walked in or something?”

Hyunjin was considering telling her that she had left the door open because she had thought, earlier, that she would just check Heejin was okay before joining Jungeun and Jiwoo, but she stopped, instead looking surprised when someone who was _not_ Chaewon walked in.

Heejin froze next to her, staring at the other girl. “Uh.”

“I am so sorry, bunny,” said Ryujin, dropping the plastic bags on the floor next to her. “I fucked up, I was stuck at work and I tried to call you, but my phone was dead and I haven’t memorized your phone number yet, so I didn’t know how to let you know what was going on and I can’t afford to lose my job and-”

“Ryu,”

“- I went by the restaurant you love and got your fave food, and I know that maybe you won’t want to spend this Valentine with me anymore, but I still wanted to make sure you weren’t too sad and upset - even though you have every right - and that maybe this would -”

“Jinnie-”

“ - Make you happy, and God, I am so sorry, this won’t happen again, I’ll even write your number in sharpie on my arm or something, though my phone is still off, actually I’ll get an Iphone like everyone else so that I can at least find a charger since it looks like I’m the only weirdo around with a Huawei-”

“Shin Ryujin!” nearly shouted Heejin, and the girl’s mouth shut with an audible click. Hyunjin eyed the black haired girl warily, but Heejin didn’t look angry. “My god. You ramble worse than me.”

Ryujin looked at her suspiciously. “You’re not mad?”

“I’m annoyed, sad, and a little upset.” Admitted Heejin, and Ryujin stiffened. “But no, I’m not mad. I had good company,” she smiled at Hyunjin, and Ryujin gave the other girl a little strange look.

Hyunjin ignored it, popping another chocolate in her mouth, as Heejin continued talking. “But I understand. I’m not happy and you’ll have to make it up to me, but I’m not mad. I get it.” She shrugged. “Life.”

Ryujin sighed happily, coming to give Heejin a tight hug. “Oh thank god. I was ready to beg,” she told her, lips on her forehead. “I really am sorry, bun.”

Hyunjin picked up her box of chocolates and the tequila, brushing invisible crumbs from her trousers. “Well… I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Oh,” said Heejin, de-tangling herself from Ryujin and looking at Hyunjin with a little sheepishly. “You don’t have to leave, we-”

“It’s no problem,” said Hyunjin, smile all teeth. “I was going to head downstairs anyway. Have a nice dinner, though.” 

The lie was clear to Heejin, and she smiled, thankful. The knot tightened in Hyunjin chest, even as her smile softened.

“Thank you anyway,” said Ryujin, and Hyunjin nodded at the girl, giving a wink and smile that felt foreign on her face.

“Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she called, closing the door behind her.

Less than a minute later she was downstairs, knocking at Yeojin’s door.

Yerim was the one to open, smiling brightly when she saw Hyunjin. “Hey, you. What’s up?”

Hyunjin handed her the box of chocolate and kicked off her shoes as she walked inside. “Room for one more?”

Hyejoo was laying on the couch, Chaewon sitting on one side of it with the other’s feet on her lap. There was a blanket and a lot of pillows on the ground, with Yeojin laying on it.

Before Hyunjin could even think of sitting on one of the sofas, Yerim and Yeojin were pulling her on the blanket with them at either side of her.

“I thought you were going out with double J,” said Chaewon, even as she passed the sour candy she was munching on to the girl.

“Changed my mind,” she answered, accepting the sweets. She blinked at the television. “Horror movies?”

“ _ Scary movies _ ,” corrected Hyejoo. “Which are basically horror movie satire. Ever seen  _ ‘Cabin in the woods _ ?’”

Yeojin offered her popcorn as she explained, “We are debating the romantic subplot of each, because you know. Valentine’s Day.”

The knot in her chest eased, and Hyunjin put down the still half full bottle of tequila, instead picking up a coke and grabbing a handful of popcorn from Yeojin. “Sounds cool.”

The other girls grinned. 

Hyunjin smiled back.

+++

“Nice!” called Jiwoo, high fiving Jungeun as she sat back next to her amid the various screams and shouts. “Did you practice it?”

Her best friend gave her a look. “Just because I haven’t gotten my big break yet doesn’t mean I haven’t been practising anyway,” She pointed out.

A few weeks ago a pointed sentence like this would have made Jiwoo upset and guilty. Now though she just laughed, shaking her head fondly. “You sounded  _ divine _ , by the way. Although are we surprised?”

Jungeun adopted a haughty look. “ _ Can  _ we be surprised by my natural talent?”

Jiwoo laughed again, leaning her head on her best friend’s shoulder as another person stepped onto the stage to sing.

Despite the disappointment of Hyunjin not joining them, they were having a great night. There were some couples scattered around - and ??? who in their right mind would think that a subpar and slightly trashy karaoke bar was a good place for a date, what with all the questionable characters around? - but the majority of people around were groups of friends, teenagers and various loners.

They served a lot of finger food, greasy goods and bad liquor, but both girls liked the vibe all around.

Normally Jungeun would have avoided a place like this, but even she could admit that it was cozy. Probably one of those establishments that looked like it should have died out years before but still managed to stay afloat, one way or another.

“Remember the first time we sang together?” asked Jiwoo, fingers trailing along the bottle of pomegranate soju they were sharing. Her head was still on her friend’s shoulder, but she could just picture Jungeun’s smile.

“How could I forget it? There were rumors about us being together for months after that,” huffed the blonde.

Jiwoo felt her own lips raising up in a smile. “To be fair, it was our fault for singing  _ Time To Love _ . I mean if looking at each other while singing ‘ _ never forget you, I’ll remember you’ _ isn’t romantic-”

She laughed when Jungeun pushed her friend off her, a glare on her face. Then the blonde rolled her eyes. “What brought this up, anyway?”

“I don’t know,” sighed Jiwoo, looking at the bottle in front of them. “All these people singing together, and the fact that we are here together on Valentine’s Day. Lonely in a crowd.”

Jungeun arched an eyebrow at her words. “You know I don’t do relationship, I’m not very good at them. Are you really surprised that I’m alone on Valentine’s?”

The red head arched an eyebrow. “No, but I’m not blind: I know you’ve been seeing or sleeping with someone.” When the blonde’s face turned guilty, Jiwoo shook away the concerns. “I don’t know who it is, but I figured out it’s complicated if you haven’t told me yet.”

At first, she had been worried. After all having her best friend slipping in and out at absurd times in the morning or the evening was bound to worry her. But when she had seen Jungeun carefully hiding a hickey with make up before leaving, she had figured out what was going on.

She trusted Jungeun, especially after their little heart to heart.

Said girl sighed, running a hand through her hair. “It is kind of complicated. I don’t want a relationship, I’m not good at that. I would like a friendship, but… she’s really hot.”

“Oh no!” mock crowed Jiwoo, grinning at the glare Jungeun sent her. “The horror!”

“You’re so annoying.”

“And yet you promised that if I get to 35 and we’re both single that we’ll get married, so you’re stuck with me!” she sang picking up one of the now cold spicy tteokboki. 

Jungeun rolled her eyes, shaking her fist at the ceiling. “Why have you forsaken me, god?!”

Jiwoo simply sniffed. “A blood oath is a blood oath.”

“I’m gonna wait ten minutes before your birthday and then propose to a random girl on the street.”

“Bold of you to assume that, like you, I’ll be single at 35!”

“Rude!”

“But always right!”

Something caught Jungeun’s eye then, and she frowned, looking at the bar from the booth they were occupying. “Hey, isn’t that-”

Her friend turned around, following her gaze to a two girls picking up two sodas and plates, the back of their heads strangely familiar. Then they turned around, and Jiwoo smiled, surprised. “Jinsoul and Sooyoung. Hey!” She added, a little loudly if the glares of the people around her were anything to go by. 

Both girls looked in her direction, lighting up when they recognised her and immediately changing their path towards them.

Jinsoul waved at them, dropping the plates and drinks she was carrying on the table. The booth they were sitting at was almost circular - like those teacup rides - so Jungeun and Jiwoo sat closer to each other so that Jinsoul and Sooyoung could slip ‘opposite’ them.

“Hey girls,” greeted Jinsoul, eyes glittering as she took them in. “How do you know this place?”

Literally glittering because she was shiny eyeshadow and glittery make up on her face. Both of them did, and they looked really pretty.

“Hyunjin,” explained Jungeun.

Sooyoung looked around, confused. “Is she also here?”

“She was going to but then something came up,” explained Jiwoo, immediately stealing a fry from the girl’s plate. “You two look fancy, though.”

Maybe it was the lightning, but a little flush dusted Sooyoung’s cheeks. “We went to a club.”

Jungeun’s eyebrows were almost at her hairline. “To a… club? The two of you?”

Jinsoul scowled at her. “Hey, we can be wild if we want, you know! We used to go all the time, with Haseul!”

“Really?” Mocked Jungeun. “Back in your days?”

“Ye-” Jinsoul’s eyes narrowed as Jungeun snickered. “Brat.”

Jiwoo hadn’t known that the two were that close, but she was glad. She turned her attention to Sooyoung, who was nibbling her fries and watching Jinsoul in amusement. She turned her head then, as if she could feel Jiwoo’s eyes on her, and her smile went even brighter as she addressed her. “Were you here singing?”

“Yeah, at the beginning. Then we were just talking and arguing about whether we will end up marrying each other at 35.” At Sooyoung’s baffled expression, she laughed. “We made a pact when we were kids. Since Jungeun is so bad at relationships and I am too romantic for my own good, we decided that if we’re still both single at 35 we’ll marry each other.”

“Wow,” said Sooyoung, after staring at her for a few seconds, still puzzled.

The red head raised a brow, picking up her shot of soju. “Don’t tell me you and Haseul and Jinsoul didn’t have that discussion, or planned for that eventuality?”

The black haired girl snorted. “I never saw Haseul that way before, and now it doesn’t matter since I’ll be her maid of honour at her wedding with Vivi. And Jinsoul I’ve dated already and it will not happen again.” When Jiwoo choked on her drink, she frowned. “You good?”

Jungeun patted her back, comfortingly, though amused, while Jiwoo stared at Sooyoung in shock. “You two dated?!”

Jinsoul tilted her head to the side. “Me and Sooyoung? Yeah, but that was back in high school. It didn’t work out.” She focused on Jungeun and Jiwoo, basically entangled with each other. “You didn’t?”

“Ew, no,  _ gross _ .” Complained the other blonde, flinching when Jiwoo elbowed her in the stomach. “Aw! Stop that. But no, Jiwoo is like… no. It’s not happening. Absolutely no way.”

“What she could have said more nicely,” grumbled Jiwoo, “is ‘no’. I would say she is like my sister, but then the implications of our blood oath and marriage pact for when we are 35 would become particularly gross.”

Sooyoung looked particularly amused at all of this. “So why even decide on it?”

“Tax purposes,” chorused the other two, making Jinsoul and Sooyoung laugh.

“So, is this your Valentine Day’s tradition?” asked Jungeun a few minutes later, munching on the tteokboki.

The dark haired girl nodded. “Basically. Usually Haseul comes with and we get our dancing shoes on and go dancing till late. Unless it’s a work night, in that case we go home earlier than that and watch sad movies and cry.”

“And if it isn’t a work night,” confided Jinsoul, shooting Sooyoung a playful smirk, “Sooyoung would disappear somewhere with her latest conquest and we wouldn’t see her till midday of the next day.”

“Conquest?” questioned Jungeun, giving Jinsoul a funny look.

Sooyoung rolled her eyes, and sent a quick look in Jiwoo’s direction before refocusing on Jinsoul. “Just because I used to be a ‘no string attached kind of girl’ doesn’t mean that they were ‘conquests’.”

Jinsoul’s grin grew. “ _ Used  _ to be, uh?”

Her best friend glared. “ _ Fuck  _ you.”

“I thought we established she wouldn’t do that anymore,” said Jiwoo, earning a snicker from Jinsoul and a small smile from Sooyoung.

“Thank you,” she said, then took her plate and pushed it towards Jiwoo. “Fry?”

The red head grinned. “Don’t mind if I do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i thought of adding viseul's date but i didn't find anywhere to put it :/


	18. week eighteen: the one with the groupchats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finally introducing... LOONA!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **W/C 17/02**
> 
> i hope the formatting doesn't fuck this up for me

The murderous gaze Sooyoung was sending the back of her head was as normal as it was annoying.

“Stop looking at me like that!” she snapped, refraining herself from rolling her eyes through sheer force of will.

“I _hate_ you, Son Hyejoo.” Professed the older girl, gaze not wavering. “I have _one_ free day and because of you I had to wake up at the crack of dawn, grab the bags of trash that you _knew_ you had to take out and chase after a garbage truck. I will look at you however I like.”

Hyejoo did roll her eyes this time. “We got to the truck in time, didn’t we?”

“That’s _not_ the point!”

Hyejoo stared heavenward. “Then what _is_ your point, sister dearest?” she asked, voice dripping honey and sweetness that could not be any more fake if she tried.

They finally reached their floor, and before Sooyoung could add more to their pointless argument, the door of Jinsoul’s apartment opened.

Both girls turned around watching as a blonde slowly slithered outside, very carefully closing the door behind them. Then she, just as slowly, turned around, freezing when she made eye contact with Hyejoo and Sooyoung.

Because it was a blonde, sure: it just wasn’t the blonde they expected to walk out of 6A.

“Uh,” started Jungeun, eye twitching slightly. “Hi…?”

Hyejoo kept staring at her, brain moving incredibly fast, as she took every detail in.

Jungeun did not look frazzled or like she had just woken up. She could have passed for a normal neighbour visiting another neighbour, were it not for the flush adorning her cheeks and her twitchy reactions to being caught _sneaking_ out of Jinsoul and Yerim’s apartment.

And Sooyoung did _not_ look surprised. If anything, she looked a little suspicious and a lot exasperated, which meant she knew a lot more than Hyejoo did.

“Hello, Jungeun,” greeted the older of the two. “How are you doing?”

The blonde crossed her arms around her chest for a moment, before running a hand through her hair. “I’m good. Uh, you guys are up… early.”

“ _Someone,_ ” a very aggressive glare at her younger sister, “forgot to take out the trash yesterday, so we had to rush and get it this morning.”

Jungeun relaxed slightly at this. “Oh, I feel you. Chaewon and Hyunjin are a nightmare, to be honest. The only people they listen to are themselves even though I am the oldest in the apartment.”

“Trust! It’s been several years of me and Hyejoo living together and I _still_ cannot get her to do anything I tell her. I am four years older than her!”

 _All right, that’s enough for one day_ , decided Hyejoo, walking past her sister and grabbing the keys from her hands. “If you’re done going after people who are not here to defend themselves and their actions, I’m making breakfast.” She gave Jungeun a considering look. “Would you like to join us?”

“No,” immediately said the girl, pointing at her apartment with her thumb, “I’m taking a shower and getting ready for work.”

Hyejoo nodded, not paying much attention to the rest of the conversation and walking back inside their apartment. 

She took out the ingredients she needed for breakfast and once the milk and cereals were ready, she pulled out her phone.

[ **groupchat:** _little sisters club + chaewon_ ]

 **hye:** i think i just solved the mystery of who jinsoul is sleeping with

She didn’t even manage to put her phone down before it was lighting up with another text.

 **tiny yeojin:** do tell

 **hye:** why are you already awake

 **tiny yeojin:** hyunjin and i go running in the moring

 **tiny yeojin:** *morning

 **tiny yeojin:** i’ve told you that before

 **hye:** the idea of you _running._ every. morning. does not get any less funny with time

 **tiny yeojin:** you’re an ass

 **hye:** i try

 **(bff):** why

 **tiny yeojin:** why are _you_ awake miss yerim

 **(bff):** because YOU woke me up with your incessant texting

 **tiny yeojin** : but hye knows who’s dating your sister

 **(bff):** [x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YH4YCqcPjI)

 **tiny yeojin:** lool

 **gowon THEE stallion:** oh spill

 **hye:** I’ll allow each of you a guess before I do tell

 **tiny yeojin:** you’re annoying

 **hye:** thank you, I do my best

 **hye:** remember - heejin has a gf. the remaining ones are hyunjin, jiwoo, jungeun and sooyoung

 **gowon THEE stallion** : I think it’s jiwoo because she’s like a happy pill and jinsoul is also a happy pill and together they can be wacky and cute and all. also they have both calmed down and they even act friendly enough when they go out. also also valentines day the two of them plus jungeun and sooyoung went out

 **tiny yeojin:** my vote is on jungeun, tbh. she seems a little awkward and somewhat collected which perfectly balances miss jinsoul’s most… reckless behaviour. 

**tiny yeojin:** opposites attract and all that jazz

 **(bff):** my vote is on sooyoung. they dated before, right, which would explain why she was so secretive and didn't tell me: in case it all blew up in their faces again. it makes sense, right

 **hye:** one of you has the right answer

 **hye:** also rip to hyunjin, the way no one even picked her

 **gowon THEE stallion:** has hyunjin even EVER spoken to jinsoul in her life. cause I’ve never seen that happening

 **(bff):** the way even I don’t know

 **tiny yeojin:** idk either

 **(bff):** so who was right

 **hye:** drum rolls please

 **tiny yeojin:** DRUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM

 **gowon THEE stallion:** drumdurum

 **(bff):** bye bye baby dumhdurum rumdururum, byeollo seulpeuji ana nunmul heulliji ana, beolsseo da kkeunnabeorin nae mameun dumhdurum dumdum

 **hye:** seriously

 **(bff):** stan apink

 **hye:** your cousin is dating jungeun

 **tiny yeojin:** AH

 **gowon THEE stallion:** what, really

 **tiny yeojin:** CALLED IT! 

**tiny yeojin:** FUCK YEAH

 **tiny yeojin:** BOW DOWN MOTHERFUCKERS

 **(bff):** i’m surprised

 **(bff):** how do you know though

 **hye:** walk of shame out of the apartment

 **tiny yeojin:** oh that’s hilarious

 **gowon THEE stallion:** so that’s who came into the apartment

 **(bff):** hold on one second

 **(bff)** : I was in the house oh no no no

 **hye** : Seulpeohajima no no no! honjaga anya no no no! Eonjenanana naege hangsang bichi dwae jun geudae! Nae soneul jabayo ije jigeum dagawa gidae eonjena himi dwae julgeeeeeeeeee

 **(bff)** : seriously?

 **hye** : stan apink

+++

Sooyoung observed her sister from where she was laying on the couch with a banana and a granola bar, considering. While at times Hyejoo could appear almost completely unaffected by her surroundings, she knew her to be very aware of everything that went around. 

But she was at the same time, quite difficult to read. She had walked in before Sooyoung had wrapped her conversation with Jungeun and had proceeded to make herself cereals before starting to play/fiddling/text/whatever-the-fuck-she-did with her phone.

There was of course the chance that she had not seen anything weird with Jungeun squirrely walking out of Yerim and Jinsoul’s place, but even as she thought it… Jungeun had been quite obvious.

Speaking of that.

She opened her own phone, opening a familiar chat.

[ **groupchat:** _jinsoul’s bitches_ ]

 **sooya ❤️** : miss jinsoul

 **seullie 💚:** soo you’re in the groupchat

 **seullie 💚** : also, good morning

 **sooya ❤️** : I’m aware, I want everyone to be around for this

 **seullie 💚** : 👀 ho ho, someone’s been a naughty girl 👀

 **soullie 💙** : don’t ever say that again pls

 **seullie 💚** : yeah, it doesn’t become me does it

 **sooya ❤️** : 'become of me' you're so pretentious

 **soullie 💙:** coming from you that's a compliment

 **soullie 💙** : and soul, really not

 **soullie 💙** : also heyyyyy sooyoung, whats up

 **sooya ❤️** : is there something you’d like to share with the class?

 **seullie 💚** : 👀

 **soullie 💙** : ?

 **soullie 💙** : not particularly, no

 **soullie 💙** : but your words make me want to say yes?

 **sooya ❤️** : think very carefully, miss jinsoul.

 **sooya ❤️** : nothing happened between yesterday night and this morning that you want to share with everyone

 **soullie 💙** : plenty has happened, but I dont think anything that I want to share, no

 **seullie 💚** : just say what u want to say s

 **sooya ❤️** : very well

 **sooya ❤️** : how come jungeun was doing the walk of shame out of your apartment this morning

 **seullie 💚:** GASP

 **seullie 💚** : MISS JINSOUL!!!!! 

**soullie 💙** : first of all no one does the walk of shame out of my bedroom

 **soullie 💙** : if anything, it would be the strut of satisfaction 💅

 **seullie 💚** : …

 **soullie 💙** : you’re such a dick

 **seullie 💚** : 🤥

 **sooya ❤️** : girls.

 **sooya ❤️** : soul, you said you were breaking it off and becoming friends

 **sooya ❤️** : if you want to sleep with her, no one is going to stop you, but YOU already told us she doesn’t want a relationship and I care about you, all right? I don’t want to see you hurt

 **seullie 💚** : ^ as she said

 **soullie 💙** : wow

 **soullie 💙** : that is surprisingly sweet

 **soullie 💙** : but we did not sleep together

 **seullie 💚** : really

 **sooya ❤️** : really

 **soullie 💙** : I swear

 **seullie 💚** : explain then perhaps

 **soullie 💙** : she was having a problem

 **seullie 💚** : 🤥

 **soullie 💙** : I know it does not sound believable but she genuinely wanted advice from me

 **soullie 💙** : believe me I was as shocked as you all must be

 **sooya ❤️** : stop with the self deprecation, you are an incredibly empathetic and genuine person

 **sooya ❤️** : why _wouldn’t_ she ask you for advice

 **soullie 💙** : you’re so sweet

 **seullie 💚** : I agree with soo but

 **seullie 💚** : why didn’t she ask jiwoo

 **soullie 💙** : I can’t really go on too deep about what exactly we spoke about for obvious reasons

 **soullie 💙** : but it was mostly because she didn’t want her to be upset or something

 **seullie 💚** : so nothing happened

 **soullie 💙** : no, mom, nothing happened

 **sooya ❤️** : does that make me dad

 **soullie 💙** : omg haseul is cheating on miss vi?

 **seullie 💚** : i’d rather die

 **sooya ❤️** : aw

 **soullie 💙** : ??? she just threatened suicide???

 **sooya ❤️** : see, this is why we never worked out together

 **soullie 💙** : i thought it was because I broke up with you

 **sooya ❤️** : hey, it was a MUTUAL dumping

 **seullie 💚** : children, tut tut

 **seullie 💚** : now that we have ascertained that jinsoul will not break her resolution of avoiding getting her heart broken, i’m going back to cuddling with vivi

 **soullie 💙** : awwww give her some cuddles from me

 **seullie 💚** : again, i’d rather die

 **sooya ❤️** : cutee

 **soullie 💙** : 😒

* * *

“I’m home!” shouted Sooyoung’s voice as the front door closed behind her. 

Hyejoo didn’t make an effort of greeting her, busy with a game of 8 ball against Chaewon. The girl was terrifyingly good at the game which, of course, made Hyejoo want to win against her even more.

She was glad to have met the girl in real life, after so much time spent speaking to her online while gaming. In a way, she was exactly what Hyejoo had expected her to be, while in others she was very much different. It was a most interesting dichotomy.

She was about to start a new game with the blonde girl when a new text message appeared from Sunmi.

[ **groupchat:** _son sisters squad_ ]

 **sista 1** : hey babes

 **hye** : whats up

 **sista 1** : sooya you here

 **sista 2** : yup

 **hye** : you okay

 **sista 2** : are you okay?

 **sista 1** : aw tendrils of love from my favourite sisters

 **sista 2** : we are your only sisters

 **hye** : choke

 **sista 1** : rude??? 

**sista 2** : miya i just got back from work pls, i was about to get into a shower

 **sista 1** : i’m having a concert in seoul in two weeks as you probably know

 **sista 1** : and i got tickets!

 **hye** : uhm.

 **hye** : and this differs from the other time you have offered us tickets how, exactly?

 **sista 1** : well the fact that I have a dozen, more or less?

 **sista 2** : wait hold on

 **hye** : HOW

 **sista 2** : at least a dozen?! forreal?

 **sista 1** : iswhat I said

 **hye** : can i invite yerim, chaewon and yeojin

 **sista 2** : jiwoo would love it

 **sista 2** : as well as jinsoul and haseul 

**sista 1** : oh who is this jiwoo who you spoke of before your bff!

 **hye** : i didn’t know you two were close

 **sista 2** : she is a Friend, stop being obnoxious

 **hye** : i mean you did mention her before bestbud 1 & 2

 **sista 1** : omg sooya do you have a gf

 **sista 2** : No, I do not. 

**sista 2** : and you know who jiwoo is, she is a big fan of yours, remember? you gave her and jungeun a contact last time you came by

 **sista 2** : i mentioned her simply because she is a big fan of yours and i thought she made an impression on you

 **sista 2** : are we done

 **hye** : interestingly defensive

 **sista 2** : no I am not

 **sista 1** : you kind of were 🧐

 **sista 2** : sigh

 **sista 2** : i make a friend other than soul&seul and i get an intervention from the two of you

 **sista 2** : whatever, so what’s the situation with the tickets

 **sista 1** : how many of you do you think will be there?

 **hye** : me, sooya, yeojin, vivi for sure. maybe: chaewon, yerim, jinsoul, haseul, jungeun, jiwoo. 

**sista 2** : heejin & hyunjin too, they like you a lot

 **sista 1** : look at that, exactly a dozen

 **sista 1** : pporappippam 🔮

 **hye** : uh?

 **sista 1** : my latest release?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 **sista 2** : oh ho

 **sista 1** : i cannot believe my own sister doesn’t stream my music

 **sista 1** : blocked and reported

 **hye** : love you too

 **sista 2** : will get back to you with the whole number by tomorrow night, love u

 **sista 1** : love u both mwah 😘

A second later Sooyoung’s head was poking into her room, a raised brow. “Who are we inviting?”

Hyejoo shrugged getting more comfortable in her bedroom. “The usual suspects plus Chaewon and that Jiwoo and Jungeun girls?”

Her sister’s expression was reproachful. “It’s not fair to invite some and not others, especially if they live together.”

“You barely know the new girls.”

“I know them better than you do!”

Hyejoo rolled her eyes a little. “Then invite them. I don’t particularly care, so long as Chaewon, Yerim and Yeojin get their tickets. And maybe Hyunjin.”

A funny expression appeared on Sooyoung’s face for a moment, before she smothered it away. It still made Hyejoo narrow her eyes at her. “What?”

The older girl seemed to consider lying for a second, before offering her a small smile. “I’m just. Happy for you, I guess.”

It was shocking enough that Hyejoo didn’t have an answer prepared for her. “What.”

Now it was Sooyoung’s turn to roll her eyes. “You’re always at home, and I got worried that you’d end up with just Yeojin and Yerim for the rest of your life. But you’re opening up your circle.” She shrugged. “It’s good to see. You’re opening up your comfort zone. I’m proud of you.”

Part of Hyejoo considered what the effects of admitting that she had known Chaewon aka Gowon beforehand - and that she had largely been the inspiration behind her leaving her school; but the bigger part felt slightly guilty.

Here she was, unsure about what to do with her life, afraid of speaking to her parents about it, and lowkey lashing out - even if not dramatically - against Sooyoung, meanwhile her sister was worried about her and her future.

She resorted to her usual coping mechanism of sarcasm. “Gee, you have no idea how much your opinion matters to me,” and oh no, that came out more honest than she would have liked.

Her sister gave her a small smile, not falling for the bait and nodded. “I’m taking a shower. I’m exhausted, order dinner?”

Here went her reputation of brat sister, destroyer of all sisters (except Haseul, cause she liked Haseul). “Chinese?”

“You know my order!”

+++

The moment she was out of the shower, Sooyoung picked up her phone again.

[ **groupchat:** _neighbours_ _™_ ]

 **sooya** : I’m adding the girls from 6B to this chat

 **yeojinnie** : oh nice

 **third attempt 🖤** : you’re telling them all via text

 **seullie 💚** : telling us what

 **third attempt 🖤** : just wait a second, its easier to say only once

 **third attempt 🖤:** also, dinner is ready whenever u come out of your room

 **miss vi** : hey 

**seullie 💚** : hey

 **yeojinnie** : gross

 **cherim** : go ahead soo

 **sooya** added **kitchen disaster**

 **sooya** added **hyunjin (6B)**

 **sooya** added **heejin (6B)**

 **kitchen disaster** : whats this

 **sooya** added **jiwoo**

 **sooya** added **jungeun (6B)**

 **jiwoo** : owo what’s this

 **hyunjin (6B)** : just why

 **yeojinnie** : welcome to the neighbours groupchat

 **yeojinnie** : you are officially part of the family

 **hyunjin (6B)** : when can i emancipate

 **yeojinnie** : okay, fuck you too

 **heejin (6B)** : is this for everyone in the building or

 **miss vi** : no, only the people we like

 **cherim** : consider yourselves blessed

 **kitchen disaster** : hurray

 **seullie 💚** : the sass is strong with this one

 **hyunjin (6B)** : i have not saved anyone’s number except for vivi and yeojin

 **yeojinnie** : omg you do love me

 **hyunjin (6B)** : i have you saved as ‘Im Yeojin from 6C’

 **yeojinnie** : you think that’ll offend me

 **yeojinnie** : i have you saved as ‘do not answer (jock)’

 **hyunjin (6B)** : …

 **third attempt 🖤** : that’s hilarious

 **jungeun (6B)** : as fun as watching hyunjin getting attacked is, what’s this for? no offense

 **jiwoo** : lippie has an aversion to groupchats

 **seullie 💚** : lippie?

 **heejin (6B)** : her nickname is kim lip, and jiwoo’s is chuu

 **seullie 💚** : ah, chuulip. i get it

 **jiwoo** : NO

 **jungeun (6B)** : why does everyone immediately go there?!?!? we dont have matching stage names!!!

 **cherim** : sure *winks knowingly*

 **yeojinnie** : definitely *finger guns*

 **soullie 💙** : they are cute tho

 **sooya** : now back to me

 **miss vi** : shoot

 **sooya** : so as all of you already know who my sister is

 **jungeun (6B)** : the absolute queen of everything?

 **jiwoo** : basically the love of my life?

 **soullie 💙** : oooof

 **sooya** : right.

 **seullie 💚** : jinsoul zip it

 **jungeun (6B)** : ?

 **sooya** : ignore them

 **sooya** : anyway big sis has offered to take us twelve tickets to go see her in seoul two weeks from today

 **jiwoo** : UOIEWVHWFUOLJEVYFIVBNEJWFEUOWBHEIOBWRVIYEBW

 **seullie 💚** : nice!

 **jungeun (6B)** : lee sunmi invited us!?!?!?!?!??! holy ehevqyv

 **hyunjin (6B)** : oh that’s cool

 **heejin (6B)** : ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

 **kitchen disaster** : hell yeah!

 **yeojinnie** : oh _nice_

 **third attempt 🖤** : stop pretending yeojin, I heard you scream from downstairs

 **yeojinnie** : fuck you, son

 **cherim** : i havent been to a concert in a while that’s great

 **miss vi** : does she have enough for all of us?

 **sooya** : she said she has at the very least 12 and i said i’d ask all of you to see if you wanted to come

 **third attempt 🖤** : if we’re lucky we might even get to go backstage before her concert starts

 **heejin (6B)** : HOLY SHHUT

 **jiwoo** : PLEASE OHV3I?2=03HU

 **sooya** : so I’m assuming all of you are willing to come?

 **jungeun (6B)** : fuck YEAH

 **soullie 💙** : oh my, watch your profanity

 **kitchen disaster** : yeah kimlip, this is a christian server

 **yeojinnie** : welcome to bible studies, we’re all children of god

 **third attempt 🖤** : KUMBAYAAAA MY LOOORD

 **seullie 💚** : what the fuck

 **miss vi** : vines.

 **seullie 💚** : ah

 **heejin (6B)** : would we be able to receive the tickets before the date?

 **heejin (6B)** : i want to invite ryujin with us which means id need our seat numbers

 **hyunjin (6B)** : you’re inviting ryujin?

 **heejin (6B)** : yeah

 **hyunjin (6B)** : uh

 **heejin (6B)** : ?

 **hyunjin (6B)** : nothing, i just thought she was more into boy groups than female soloists

 **heejin (6B)** : worth asking

 **third attempt 🖤** : just to make sure, reply with your name if your coming so that miya can get u a badge, everyone

 **heejin (6B)** : jeon heejin

 **hyunjin (6B)** : kim hyunjin

 **seullie 💚** : im haseul

 **yeojinnie** : im yeojin

 **miss vi** : wong vivi

 **jungeun (6B)** : kim jungeun

 **soullie 💙** : jung jinsoul

 **cherim** : choi yerim

 **sooya** : son sooyoung

 **jiwoo** : kim jiwoo

 **kitchen disaster** : park chaewon

 **third attempt 🖤** : and me

 **sooya** : ill send miya a screenshot

 **jiwoo** : this is gonna be so GREAT

 **yeojinnie** : hell YEAH!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made an entire spreadsheet for each member of loona's name in the other's phone  
> i will explain hyejoo and 
> 
> hyejoo's phone: sista 1 (sunmi), sista 2 (sooyoung)  
> hyejoo's phone: pretty one (6B), cool one (6B), sooyoung’s bestie 2, tiny yeojin, pretty vi, blonde one (6B), sooyoung’s bestie 1, bff, sista 2, loud one (6B), gowon THEE stallion
> 
> yves' phone: sibling one 🤍 (sunmi), third attempt 🖤 (hyejoo)  
> yves' phone: heejin (6B), hyunjin (6B), seullie 💚, yeojinnie, miss vi, jungeun (6B), soullie 💙, cherim, jiwoo, kitchen disaster, third attempt 🖤


	19. week nineteen: the one with the Captain America quote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> W/C: 24/02
> 
> Just 6B shaenanigans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will you look at that. just two weeks from the last update. im kinda proud of myself

When Chaewon had moved to Seoul all those months ago, it had been to get a taste of life on her own. She had had dreams of finding a nice apartment that wasn’t too expensive or too cheap and to set up shop there. She imagined herself to become a mix of Serena Van Der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf with none of the drama, just living in the city and slowly becoming a talented and sought after writer.

But it didn’t happen quite like that. 

She hadn’t expected to have to share the apartment with four other girls she had never met in her life. Girls with personalities so different it could give anyone whiplash but were, at the same time, quite nice and friendly.

She had actually considered giving up, those first days with nothing but her laptop as an actual friend. And then Jiwoo had reached out and made her cook with her, and then Sooyoung and the other girls were incredibly nice and supportive and then she had met Hyejoo.

In a way, it was meeting Hyejoo, more than anything, that made her sure she wanted to stay. 

It wasn’t everyday that the girl you chatted to online all the time turned up to be your new neighbour, after all. Chaewon might not fully believe in fate and all that, but she knew it was some sort of sign. It must mean something that the one apartment she had decided to move in was next to the in-a-crisis girl she had been speaking to for the past few months.

And how glad she was that she had stayed! 

The drama around the complex seemed to be never-ending and completely focused on the 11 girls she shared the floor (and the apartment directly below) with. First that whole drama with Vivi and Haseul, then meeting Hyejoo, then the friendship break up and make up of Hyejoo and Yeojin. It was a soap waiting to be written.

Therefore, Chaewon had started writing it.

She had a blog with a couple hundred followers and like 10 dedicated commenters since before she had moved to Seoul. At first she just wrote what was happening to her as if it was a diary for them to read.

However, as the regular commenters started to grow, all of them enthusiastically asking about one of the other girls, wondering if ‘Yeona’ and ‘Joo’ became closer friends or if ‘Junghwan’ managed to get signed (because she wasn’t stupid enough to use her friend’s real names), she changed the format a little.

And, shockingly, it somehow made her even more popular. Her followers were in the thousands now, and her daily hits and comments were in the fifties. It might not seem like a lot, but in comparison to what she was used to, it was.

In short, Park Chaewon had gone and blew up.

Part of her felt a little guilty, now. When she had started this at the beginning, it was just a diary. A way for her to connect with her ‘fanbase’ and build up her portfolio.

But now she was recounting funny and embarrassing things that had happened to people she knew in real life. She didn’t think any of the girls would necessarily be mad about it, but in a way it was a breach of privacy, right? And at the very least Hyunjin might not be very happy about it.

The blonde huffed her hair out of her face, considering the blank page on her laptop. 

She had come to the tea shop to decide what she wanted to do and perhaps write a little bit more of what happened last week with the ‘detective foursome’ finding out who was sleeping with ‘Jinae’, but all she had done so far was eat cake, drink tea and quietly despair.

Perhaps she should ask someone - an unbiased third party - what her approach should be. 

Except Chaewon had never been particularly social, and the only people she knew were the girls in the apartment. Who were exactly who she hadn’t decided if she could tell or not.

_ This is so fucked up,  _ she decided, snapping her laptop shut. There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate on what she wanted to write now, so she might as well get Yerim the cupcakes she had asked and get back home already.

“I just don’t get it,” came a familiar voice, just as Chaewon rounded up the corner to where the tissues were. She didn’t mean to, but her eyes immediately focused on a distracted and slightly annoyed Heejin sitting at one of the tables with a girl wearing a leather jacket and a hat that proudly said ‘ _ Dawon Tea Place _ ’. “It’s one night out, and Hyunjin will be there too. You like Hyunjin.”

“I do,” agreed Ryujin, but her voice had an exasperated tinge on it. “Hyunjin is great. But I just… what’s the point of me buying a ticket to see an artist I don’t even care about? No offense but she simply isn’t my taste.”

“It’s not about the artist, Ryu,” Heejin’s eyes looked more than a little upset, whether at the dismissal or the dislike for Sunmi (they had to be talking about her), Chaewon wasn’t sure. “It’s about coming out with me and having fun. If the ticket is the problem I’m more than okay with buying it for you.”

“It’s not a money problem, it’s just an ‘I am  _ not interested _ ’ thing. You don’t like horror movies, do you?” Heejin shook her head slightly. “I wouldn’t ask you to come watch an horror movie with me because I understand that and I respect you. It’s the same thing.”

“You think I don’t respect you?” asked Heejin, now genuinely upset.

Chaewon took that as he cue to disappear. She kept her eyes down as she rounded the corner and picked up a couple of tissues. Then she returned to her table and put all her stuff away, fixing up her coat.

It still took her a few minutes till she was all ready to go. She then proceeded to leave, making sure to not even glance in the direction where Heejin and Ryujin were seated.

“Chaewon, wait up!” Of course god had no interest in allowing her any respite.

She turned around and pretended to be surprised at the dark haired girl approaching her, sending her a smile that she hoped conveyed a ‘oh what a surprise seeing you here, I had no idea you were here and I definitely didn’t hear you and your girlfriend having an argument over there’ message. “Oh, Heejin. Hi.”

Considering Heejin’s smile didn’t waver, it might have worked. “What are you doing here?”

The blonde patted her laptop bag as they finally exited the tea shop. “Working on some stuff. You?”

A strange look passed Heejin’s face and she pouted. “Arguing with my girlfriend.”

Now what was Chaewon supposed to do but say, “Oh, is everything all right?”

“Kind of, yeah. I think so,” said the older - by a month - girl. “Or maybe not. I don’t know. I’m confused.”

“I’m sure it’ll be okay -” tried Chaewon, just to be interrupted by Heejin.

“I mean, all I asked was if she wanted to come to Sunmi’s concert with me, you and the other girls. Just a hangout so that she can get to know you people better. Concerts seem like a fun place to go and interact with people in a different setting right?” Chaewon nodded, and she continued. “Like, I’ve been to several concerts I was not interested in because I got gifted a ticket to it. Bands I don’t even know. And yet, Ryujin thinks that me inviting her to see someone she isn’t a fan of is the same as disrespecting her and her preferences. And I don’t understand that leap of logic”

Chaewon could sort of see where Ryujin was going with her point. After all, preferences are preferences. If someone tells you no the first time, it is usually bad taste to continue and trying to convince them.

She knew better than to voice that opinion out loud, though. She simply hummed, and Heejin continued.

“Like, I loathe horror movies. They give me nightmares and I am terrified of ghosts. But still, I’d be willing to watch a horror movie if Ryujin was really into it. Isn’t that what girlfriends do?”

Chaewon raised an eyebrow at her. “I am not sure why you’re asking me, the single girl, about what people in relationships do, but I have to suggest you this. Compromise where you can. Where you can’t, don’t. Even when everyone is telling that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say ‘No, you move’.”

Heejin blinked at her. 

“Did you… did you just quote Captain America at me?” she slowly questioned.

“Technically, I quoted Sharon Carter quoting Peggy Carter,” specified the blonde, pleased when Heejin snorted.

“You’re are awful at this.”

“You’re the one asking the worse possible person ever for advice!”

* * *

“You are distressingly good at this,” said Jiwoo, watching in fascination as Hyunjin put the finishing touches to the honey garlic bulgogi. 

The younger girl smirked, not looking up from the food. “Distressingly?”

“Well, so far I have yet to see any skill you lack,” she explained, placing the steamed rice on the table. “It’s frightening how efficient and competent you are.”

“I routinely forget about doing the dishes and taking out the trash,” pointed out Hyunjin, moving the plate on the table too.

Jiwoo gave her a half glare. “There is a difference between ‘forgetting’ and doing it on purpose half because you don’t want to and half because you like pissing off Kim Lip.”

Hyunjin snorted, taking out a couple of cans of sodas and placing them on the table.

Jiwoo looked at the food and let out a sigh. She had though, for a moment, that she wouldn’t be able to finish it but thanks to Hyunjin everything had gone according to plan.

She knew, rationally, that she had nothing to worry about. Her and Lip had mostly gone past the whole ‘I’ve been recruited and you haven’t’ thing. They were, more or less, back to their usual rapport.

However, there was a difference between ‘I’ve been recruited’ and ‘I need to sign this form and give it to them and then I’m signed’. Sure, after recruitment, it was to be expected. But it still had the danger of being upsetting.

She was, of course, enthusiastic about getting signed by Stone Music entertainment. It was a big thing. Her parents would, most probably, be ecstatic.

And yet all she could do was worry about what Lip’s reaction was going to be. It was a little pathetic, to be honest.

Which why she had spent her nervous energy making them a meal in order to, perhaps, distract her best friend and herself for a little bit before having to tell her about what was going to happen.

Of course, there was the tiny fact that Lip was her best friend and knew that her cooking meant she was lowkey trying to hide something, but she hoped she was distracted by Hyunjin’s chicken enough to allow Jiwoo those few minutes to settle herself down.

“We’re back!” called Chaewon’s voice, as she walked into the room with Heejin and Jungeun behind her.

Hyunjin raised an eyebrow, watching as the trio put away their coats under Lip’s watchful gaze. “I thought you were going to work on your blog, Chae.”

“I was,” agreed the girl, eyes lighting up when she saw the meal on the table. “Then I ran into Heejin at the tea shop I was working on. And then we ran into Jungeun.”

The older of them glanced at the food in surprise before frowning at Jiwoo. “You guys cooked? All of this?”

Her best friend simply took a seat, refusing to let her nerves show. “My idea but Hyunjin did most of the work. Hurry up and wash your hands. There is enough for all of us.”

“You can cook too?” questioned Chaewon, dropping her laptop bag in the living room and heading for the sink. “Is there anything you can’t do? You’re starting to scare me.”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, settling down next to Jiwoo. “What is it about competent people that seem to scare everyone else around them? It’s not my fault I’m simply perfect.”

“Yeah,  _ right, _ ” teased Heejin, coming out of the bathroom with her hands still wet. Lip made a face at that, but didn’t reprimand her, instead going to wash her hands too. “You have a terrible personality, I’ll have you know.”

“Don’t confuse my personality with my attitude. My personality is who I am. My attitude depends on who you are,” said the other girl, expression profound.

Heejin blinked. “That was… deep.”

Jiwoo rolled her eyes. “Frank Ocean usually is,” she said, snorting when Hyunjin sent her a betrayed look.

“She totally believed I made it up, why would you ruin this for me?”

Heejin glared, pointing a finger at the taller girl. “See? You’re a dick.”

“Now, now, children,” chided Lip, settling down between Heejin and Jiwoo. “It is not the time for your little squabbling. Wow, you girls made all this?”

Hyunjin seemed a little embarrassed at the impressed look on Kim Lip’s face, while Jiwoo beamed. “Yeah, we did. I mean, I made the instant rice and started on the chicken bulgogi, but Hyunjin fixed it and made it better. Bon appetit.”

She didn’t start eating though, instead watching as everyone took a bite before, watching their expression like an eagle. When Chaewon let out a moan of satisfaction, she grinned even more. 

“Oh wow, this is so good!” She glanced at Jiwoo almost in shock. “So is the reason the cake ended up like it did my presence in the kitchen or is Hyunjin a complete magician?”

“A mix of both,” said Lip, making a show of elbowing Jiwoo. “She has always been a decent cook, but I’m gonna go ahead and assume that Hyunjin is the it factor we are tasting right now. I bet even Sooyoung would be impressed.”

“You could totally get a job at her restaurant or something,” added Heejin, slurping up the miso soup. “Or you two could start your own restaurant. Hyunjin and Sooyoung. Soo-Hyu, but pronounced ‘Soya’. I’m a genius.”

Hyunjin rolled her eyes, even though her cheeks were a little red. “If your ego was any bigger…” she grumbled, managing to catch a piece of tofu thrown at her with her mouth. 

“Speaking of eating at restaurants, who is absolutely losing their minds because of next week?” asked Jiwoo taking another bite of food. “Because I am.”

“I am going shopping,” informed her Lip, shaking her head slightly. “There is nothing in my wardrobe that I can wear to meet  _ the  _ Sunmi. Last time I was caught by surprise enough.”

“Me too,” sighed Heejin. “I’m lowkey broke but let’s make a day out of it. The five of us hitting the high streets.”

“High streets,” snorted Chaewon. “I’ll come with but if we’re going to the big boutiques -”

“I’m gonna go ahead and say that I doubt any of us has the money to hit the big boutiques,” said Lip, amused. Chaewon noticed Hyunjin frowning at her food, but the other blonde was still talking. “Not with the way we are all stuck living together in this apartment.”

Heejin pouted slightly at those words. “Hey, I happen to actually like this place, now.” Jiwoo looked at her sceptically, and Heejin shrugged. “I know it seems weird, but after spending what, four months? together, I happen to have grown rather fond of all four of you.”

“Aw, how sweet,” said Hyunjin in the deadest tone of voice possible, making the other three laugh and Heejin slap her arm in retaliation.

“See? A menace!”

They kept bickering for a few moments, much to the other trio’s amusement.

“You know, I could probably make a super successful soap opera based on you girls alone,” told them Chaewon once they had seemed to exhaust their arguments, her eyes still focused on the meat.

Jiwoo looked at her in confusion. “I thought you were a writer? You can totally do it.”

“I’d read it,” agreed Heejin, amused when Chaewon looked up at the other four with a little frown. “I’d be the main character, though, right?”, she teased.

“Nah,” immediately said Hyunjin. “You would be the nerdy side character who drops pearls of wisdom every now and then but mostly is offscreen. You’d get killed off by the second season.”

“Well, you would be the alcoholic comic relief then!”

“You say it like that’s in any way a bad character. I get to bring together my two favourite things: drinking and my awesome sense of humour.”

“Also,” corrected Chaewon, “If any one was the main character it’d probably be me. Or Yeojin, since she kind of knows the most of us.”

The two older girls let the trio bantering and returned to the kitchen. It had been a while since they had seen them interacting together, but it was wonderful to watch.

“So,” started Lip the moment the dirty dishes they had collected were in the sink. “Are you now going to tell me why you cooked lunch for everyone? And don’t say it’s because you ‘wanted’.”

Jiwoo spoke before she could start to overthink it. “I got my contract.”

Her eyes were on her best friend as she spoke, ready to overanalyse every single twitch and frown on her face.

But Jungeun didn’t frown. Instead a radiant smile blossomed on her face, eyes twinkling in bright happiness as she almost broke a plate in her rush to place her hands in Jiwoo’s. “Really? You’re signed!?”

A mirror of her expression appeared on Jiwoo’s face. _This_ was her fucking her best friend. “I’m signed,” she agreed, a little giggly as she interlocked their fingers together.

“My best friend is a _signed fucking artist_!” laughed Jungeun, letting go of her hands and wrapping her in a tight embrace.

All the tension and nerves that she had been carrying since the document was given to her simply melted out of her at the contact. Why had she even bothered being nervous? Of  _ course  _ this was how Jungeun decided to react. She was her _best_ _friend_.

“I’m a signed fucking artist!” she agreed, laughing with her and hiding her face into her friend’s hair.

There was a lot she wanted to say. A lot of thank you’s (thank you for being cool about it, thank you for not being upset, thank you for supporting me, thank you for pushing me to follow through with it, thank you for encouraging me to stand on my own two feet, thank you for being the best of friend) and a lot of encouragements (this will be you soon, don’t give up, you’re on the right track, keep working hard, I’ll see you at the top, hurry up and join me) but she knew none of it was needed. Not now.

Instead she stayed in her best friend’s embrace for a little while longer.

“I’m proud of you,” whispered Jungeun, pressing a gentle kiss on her cheek. 

“I love you,” answered Jiwoo, kissing her other cheek and finally letting go. She let out a short laugh, and wiped a stray tear. 

There was no awkwardness, thankfully, as she left her in the kitchen to do the washing up and instead joined the other girls back in the living room.

Chaewon was back on her laptop once more, typing furiously fast with an intent expression, while Heejin and Hyunjin were sitting close to each other on the couch, the remote in the red haired girl’s hand.

“What are we watching?” she asked, settling down to the side and putting her feet on Heejin’s lap.

The dark haired girl let out some token grumbles, but didn’t move to push her off in any way.

“ _ ‘What happened to Monday’ _ ,” answered Hyunjin, opening up Netflix. “dystopian, science fiction, thriller.”

Jiwoo hummed in agreement, but Heejin frowned, turning to the other girl. “I thought you hated science fiction?”

“I do,” agreed Hyunjin, and Chaewon paused her typing to look up at her. “But you’ve been looking depressed since you stepped through the door, which is vexing, and I think you’ll like this.”

“Uh?” questioned Jiwoo, looking at Heejin in confusion. She had been talking and laughing just fine earlier, she didn’t seem upset to her.

But Chaewon was staring at Hyunjin in open surprise, and Heejin’s pursed lips were sort of confirming Hyunjin’s earlier analysis. “So you don’t like science fiction but you’re willing to watch it because it’ll make me happy?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” immediately said the red head, rolling her eyes slightly. “It will make you less annoying to deal with, so…”

For some reason, Chaewon spoke up. “Compromise where you can,” she said, making Heejin’s eye widen in surprise. Chaewon smiled. “Works in friendship too.”

“Wow,” said Heejin, while the other girl was looking between Chaewon and Heejin with suspicious eyes. 

“I don’t know what code you’re talking in but I do not like it.”

“Nothing,” said Heejin, beaming and twisting her head to put it on Hyunjin’s shoulder, nearly dislodging Jiwoo’s feet while doing so. Hyunjin didn’t flinch or shift, but she did look towards the other girl in confusion. 

Chaewon’s eyebrows were climbing further up her forehead as she started typing once more. Jiwoo felt like she was missing something big and wasn’t quite sure what the something was. 

Hyunjin stared at Heejin for a few more seconds, expression unreadable, before turning her eyes back on the television. “So, I’m assuming it’s a yes on the movie?”

She waited for all three of them to voice their assent before pressing the play button.

They were 20 minutes into the movie when the doorbell rung. Lip, who had joined them after she was done with the washing up stood up to open the door.

“Hey,” came Sooyoung’s voice, a couple of seconds later. Jiwoo sat more properly on the chair, sending a smile to the other girl, who immediately smiled back. “What’s this I’m hearing about you guys refusing my offer of food because you already cooked?”

Jiwoo let out a little chuckle. “I had news to give to Lippie so I thought to feed her and the brats,” she raised her voice a little at the insult, but none of the other three looked at her. She snorted, and turned her eyes back on the dark haired girl. “Speaking of, I officially got signed!”

Sooyoung’s eyes widened, a beautiful smile breaking out on her face. “Oh my god? That’s great, Jiwoo!” She moved like to go in for a hug, then hesitated.

Jiwoo took the decision out of her and leant in for the hug. “Thank you. I honestly owe you and Sunmi.” Unlike hugging Lip, hugging Sooyoung was a little more complicated, what with her towering over Jiwoo like the giant she was. Also, she smelled really nice. Like… red wine, but not in a bad way.

“You don’t owe either of us anything,” told her Sooyoung, leaning back and placing a hand under her chin. “This is all  _ you _ .”

The younger girl flushed a little at the intensity of her words and gaze and looked away. “Agree to disagree,” she finally said. God, why was she feeling so hot and flustered out of nowhere? It was still February. “Wait, let me get you some of the bulgogi me and Hyunjin made, it’s actually edible!”

She moved away before the other could say anything, shaking her head slightly. Sooyoung was stupidly pretty. Honestly, sometimes Jiwoo wanted to be her just to know what it felt like to look like a model and still have the kindest heart in the history of the world.

“... not anymore,” came Lip’s voice just as Jiwoo appeared in the kitchen doorway. Jiwoo frowned. “Now we’re mostly friends.”

“So you’re saying that you don’t have any intentions with my cousin?” that was Yerim’s voice. Did she come in with Sooyoung? Jiwoo hadn’t even seen her. She moved subtly, listening in open interest. “You hit and quit it? A couple of nights of passion and decided it was over?”

_ What. _

“No, we  _ both  _ decided that with us being neighbours and the fact that we don’t know each other, it was better to suspend our whole acquaintances with benefits thing. So now we’re just friends - or trying, at least.”

Lip sounded mortified. Jiwoo could respect that, it wasn’t everyday that a girl younger than you cornered you in the kitchen and gave you the third degree because you slept with their cousin.

Speaking of,

“YOU SLEPT WITH JINSOUL?!”

Let it be known that Kim Jiwoo had never been good at subtle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shin ryujin im so sorry for implying you're not a sunmi stan, i truly don't deserve rights
> 
> also hey, should i share my gen information doc? it's what i use to remember their jobs, relationship status etc


	20. week twenty: the one with the concert

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **week commencing 02/03**
> 
> LOONA goes to Sunmi's concert

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i have been to concerts before  
> yes i know this is not how it works  
> no i will not take criticism for making this very cracky
> 
> but on the other side im giving you all the ships, so you're welcome

“Everyone ready?” asked Haseul, checking in the rear-view mirror of her car, her hands already on the wheel.

“Ready!” called out Yeojin, sat between Heejin and Hyunjin.

Vivi, sitting shotgun next to her, simply showed her a thumbs up, her attention fixed on her phone.

“Won’t we get there too early?” questioned Heejin, as the car finally started a few seconds later.

Despite the size of Haseul’s vehicle, only the five of them were aboard. The other girls were, for one reason or another, going to come a little later.

“If we do, we’ll have time to stock up on snacks while we wait for everyone else to arrive,” pointed out Yeojin, wiggling her eyebrows at her. “That’s what the three of us always ended up doing whenever we went to concerts or out together.”

Haseul snorted from the front seat. “I can’t believe how long it’s been since we did one of our outings together...” she mused, shaking her head a little.

Her sister rolled her eyes, but she looked fond. “Well, maybe if you and Vivi didn’t become a package deal I’d be able to stand being around you for more than a few hours at a time.”

“Don’t lie, you were totally ecstatic about them getting together,” teased Heejin, laughing when Yeojin loudly shushed her.

Vivi turned around, grinning too and sending her a kiss. “Love you too, Yeo.”

“Yeah, yeah,” muttered the younger girl, but her eyes were dancing with mirth. She turned to Hyunjin, who had been mostly quiet the entire time. “Hey, Hyunjin. Why are you so quiet?”

“Why are you so loud?” answered the older girl, eyes still focused on the outside of the window. 

“Why are you such a dick?”

“Language,” huffed Haseul. “Hyunjin, you okay?”

Finally the red haired girl looked away from the window and met Haseul’s eyes in the mirror. “Yeah. It’s just...”

“Just what?” asked Vivi, turning her head around to look at her in worry. It was very cute, the clear affection the oldest of the bunch had for Hyunjin.

If Heejin didn’t know any better, she’d say Hyunjin looked almost... embarrassed. But that couldn’t be, right?

“I’ve uh... I’ve never been to a concert before,” she finally said and. Hold on. 

“WHAT?!” Chorused Yeojin and Heejin at the same time, twin looks of horror on their expression.

Hyunjin huffed, the weird couldn’t-possibly-be-embarrassment washing away for irritation. “I’ve never been to a concert before. It’s not a big deal, you don’t need to go to a concert to support your favourite artist, okay?”

“Never said you do,” agreed Heejin, but her mind was reeling. 

Hyunjin did not make any sense, in Heejin’s humble opinion. Walked around with outfits that looked expensive as hell, but lived in a cramped apartment with four other girls. Didn’t seem to have a job, but always paid the rent on time. Looked and spoke, sometimes, like a princess, but was a menace in everything jock and sports. 

She was a walking contradiction, and it both fascinated and puzzled Heejin.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” said Yeojin, eyes gleaming.

The red haired girl made eye contact with Heejin, giving her a lopsided grin. “Am I the only one who’s suddenly very afraid?”

Heejin blinked away her confusion at the girl, and winked. “Nah, Yeojin saying she got anyone is reason enough to be _very_ afraid.”

“Ditto,” chorused Haseul and Vivi.

“You guys are assholes.”

“Language!”

+++

“Hyejoo, Chaewon, ready?” called Sooyoung, locking her apartment behind her.

Her sister simply nodded, fixing her coat around her shoulders while Chaewon answered with a chirpy, “Yup. Oh, hey, Jiwoo,” before they both hopped down the stairs.

Sooyoung turned around at the mention of the other girl, who was standing in front of her apartment door in a pretty black and grey winter dress. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her mouth was pulled in a pout. 

She looked adorable, and Sooyoung felt her lips pulling up without her permission. “Hey, Jiwoo. Why the pout?”

“I’m not pouting,” she said, her pout growing. “And I’m waiting for Lip to get here so her, me, Jinsoul and Yerim can get going, but she hasn’t gotten back yet.”

“That sucks,” agreed Sooyoung, ignoring Hyejoo calling for her to hurry up. She knew that her sister hated having to wait once _she_ was ready, and that she should hurry up. But she couldn’t just leave, not when Jiwoo was standing there looking like a kicked puppy. “Hey, want to join us?” She found herself saying.

When Jiwoo frowned, eyes lighting up hopefully, she couldn’t push those words back. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she said, refusing to think about what Hyejoo and Sunmi would say of this development. “It’s a rental, and there is enough space for us all, I’d think. It’s just me, Hye and Chae, Seul, Vivi, Yeo, and the two Jins took Haseul’s car.”

“Oh my god!” said Jiwoo in a high pitched voice, jumping up in her arms, and wrapping her legs around her waist with a grin. Her eyes were open and sparkling and up this close, and her smile pretty and infectious. “You’re the best.”

Instead of opening her mouth and risking saying something awfully cheesy like “ _and you’re beautiful,_ ”, Sooyoung just grinned and shrugged, moving towards the stairs.

Jiwoo didn’t need any other explanation, hopping behind her and typing on her phone at the same time. “Hey, do you think your sister will perform _Siren_? It’s one of Lip’s absolute favourites.”

“Maybe,” said the taller girl, glad that her voice was normal. “I don’t know her setlist, and she doesn’t share it with us that often either. She treats us just like fans most of the time.”

“Well, you guys _are_ her number one fans,” pointed out the red head. “And wasn’t that a new album by her on you guy’s shelf?”

Sooyoung rolled her eyes at that, a little smile on her face. “No, actually. Hyejoo made it herself for Sunmi’s song with JYP. She says that, that way, whenever she walks into our apartment, she’ll have to face the consequences of her actions. _When We Disco_ is, and I quote, ‘a crime against humanity’.”

Jiwoo’s laugh was crystalline and genuine as they walked out of the building and climbed into the car. It made her heart leap, having made her laugh like that.

When she stepped into the car, Hyejoo looked at her smile very judgingly.

Sooyoung refused to make eye contact with her, and started the car.

+++

“ _IT’S ORANGE YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN!”_ screeched Jungeun as Yerim hit the gas even harder. “ _JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!”_

“Ah, still got it,” said the purple haired girl, a little smile on her face as she managed to not stop at the intersection. She looked at the girl in the backseat judgementally. “Jungeun can you fix your seatbelt and sit down?”

“YOU’RE TRYING TO KILL ME!” shouted Jungeun, absolutely not caring at the way Yerim and Jinsoul both winced.

In her personal opinion, her screams were justified. Miss angel Yerim over there drove like someone who had absolutely nothing in life to lose. She saw traffic lights as a suggestion and people on the streets as obstacles she needed to try and avoid. 

Jungeun both cursed and was jealous of Jiwoo for managing to avoid the entire situation by hitching a drive with Sooyoung. Jungeun would bet that Sooyoung drove like a grandma, all proper and good because she wanted to arrive to her sister’s concert all in one piece and had her sister in the car.

And Jinsoul? The older girl was completely calm in her own seat, shuffling among various Sunmi songs and singing loudly with Yerim. They were both very good, and, had this been any other situation, Jungeun would have gladly joined them.

Instead she was stuck in the backseat, holding onto her seat belt as tight as possible and wondering how she could have possibly thought that Yerim and Jinsoul were nothing like each other.

She had spent the past couple of months thinking that Yerim was some sort of proper girl. Someone with her head on her shoulders, someone reliable/trustworthy.

Jungeun would go on and say she had never judged a book by the cover as hard as she had little miss Choi Yerim.

“Hey, Jungeun, want to pick?” asked Jinsoul, all but shoving her phone in the younger girl’s face. Then she frowned at her expression. “Are you going to puke?”

Yerim turned around with a very similar expression on her face. “Please don’t puke in here, this car is a rental you know? It’s not mine!”

“KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD!” Let out Jungeun with a ear splitting scream, covering her face with both hands. Good god she was going to die.

“Stop being dramatic, you’re not going to die,” huffed Yerim, narrowly missing a collision with another car. “Are you going to pick a song?”

Jungeun kept her hands on her face until the car finally stopped about five minutes later, while the other two kept singing and screaming lyrics at each other.

Once the car finally stopped she opened the door with shaking fingers, all but falling on her knees on the asphalt.

“Never again!” she said, taking deep breaths with her hands still on the ground.

“We’re gonna have to go back home, you know?” reminded her Jinsoul, and she sounded like she was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

What a dick.

She was very lucky that she was cute.

* * *

More than half of the girls had not been backstage a concert before, so their eyes were big and avid as they tracked everything around them with wide eyes. Even usually aloof Hyunjin seemed curios as she observed the equipment and the people running around.

They had been given their own badges so that they weren’t asked to leave the place, but many people still stopped and looked at them weirdly as they walked around with an intern.

Hyejoo and Sooyoung were the only ones still wearing a face mask. Sure, people might not necessarily know that Sunmi had two younger sisters, but all it took was one person wondering why would the singer gift tickets to twelve random girls and then noticing that two of the twelve girls looked suspiciously similar to her for all hell to cut loose.

The moment they stepped inside Sunmi’s waiting room, however, any worry disappeared from their minds, transformed into awe and giddiness.

The older woman grinned back when she saw who it was. “Holy shit, it’s like a mini classroom,” she said, and Hyejoo rolled her eyes at that. Sunmi didn’t pay her any attention. “Hi girls! I’m glad you could all make it.” 

Vivi stepped forward when most of them just shuffled nervously were they were standing, and pointed at the row of clothing in one side of the room. “Are those your outfits for the concert?”

“Theoretically,” said the older Son sister with a pout. “I mean, yeah, they are. Now, if the manager of this place could show up and get everything fine tuned so that I can start my rehearsals and see if this clothing will hold up...”

“What happened?” asked Sooyoung, watching from the corner of her eyes as the rest of the girls also started to move. Hyejoo was standing with her, but everyone else had dispersed around, more interested in the waiting room than the discussion at hand.

Her older sister shrugged. “Not too sure. Manager Kim was supposed to be here by now, but she isn’t and I’m a step away from starting to freak out.”

“You need any help?” asked Hyejoo, raising an eyebrow.

Sunmi looked conflicted. “You guys came here for a concert...”

“Not them,” said the youngest with a vague gesture towards the rest of the room. “Me. Need any help?”

Sunmi opened her mouth to refuse - after all she had invited her siblings _first,_ they deserved to have fun as much as everyone else - when her personal manager walked in. At the frantic expression on the woman’s face she felt slightly apprehensive. “Youha?”

“It’s not good, Sunmi,” she said, never one for sugar coating anything. “Manager Kim eloped with Deputy Manager Shin. The third in line of command hurt themselves yesterday. I would be able to handle this, perhaps, but between that and getting you and everything else ready I’d be spreading myself too thin.”

“Fuck,” said the singer in a low voice, trying to hide a grimace. It wasn’t the first time something had caused her to delay or cancel a concert, but it sucked. After having managed to get her sisters to take a break and had them invite their group of friends, it’d suck even worse having to suddenly cancel. “Fuck.”

“What does it entail?” asked Hyejoo, taking a step forward.

Youha looked startled at that, like she hadn’t noticed the two girls standing behind her. “I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“I’m a friend of Sunmi’s,” said the younger girl, the practiced lie coming out very easy. “How can I help?”

“Hye,” tried Sunmi, but her sister didn’t listen. She looked at Sooyoung for help in corralling their wayward sibling, but Sooyoung was looking at the younger girl with a thoughtful expression on her face.

And Youha had immediately taken up Hyejoo the moment Sunmi didn’t refute their relationship to each other, showing her a clipboard with a hopeful expression on her face. Hyejoo’s face was mostly covered by the face mask, but her eyes were attentive and serious as she listened in.

Not that Hyejoo couldn’t be serious when she needed - some might even go ahead and say that she was simply _too_ serious - but it was odd and fascinating watching her like that.

And when she took the earpiece and slotted into place like it was something she did everyday instead of something she was doing for the first time with a certain sparkle of excitement in her eyes, the older girls made eye contact with each, because that sparkle? That was something they were both very much familiar with.

“Alright,” said Hyejoo, not pulling down her mask but her tone of voice betraying the smirk on her mouth nevertheless. “I’m going to check on the stage. Don’t miss me too much.”

“You couldn’t have left any sooner,” said Sooyoung automatically, grinning when Hyejoo took a new lanyard and flipped her off before she walked out.

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow. “How do you think mom and dad are going to take it?”

“We don’t even know if it’s something she’ll be offered or even end up taking,” hedged Sunmi. When Sooyoung’s eyebrow simply rose higher, she snorted. “Yeah. That’s going to be interesting.”

+++

Jinsoul had been to many concerts before, and more than half of them had been Sunmi’s concerts. She loved to watch the girl perform and even finding out that she was her best friend’s older sister had not put a damp in her feelings for the amazing singer.

It was very easy to see why she was so popular when she jumped around the stage for a small crowd of twelve - if you counted Hyejoo ducking out every other song - like it was her normal crowd.

It wasn’t her first soundcheck, either, so she knew what to expect as the young woman sang her new single for them. 

It was cute however seeing the way the other girls, especially Jiwoo and Jungeun, were literally vibrating out of their skin in happiness as they watched her perform. The two of them had literal stars in their eyes as they mouthed the words and followed the fanchants to a T.

They were definitely contending with Yeojin for the biggest fans of Sunmi around.

It was even cuter the way they both pouted in perfect sync once she finished the last notes of pporappippam and gave a little bow to the group. “Alright,” she said, grinning wildly. “You have a bit of time to gather some grub and walk around before the doors are opened to let everyone in. Like one hour and half, sort of time.”

Sooyoung immediately stood up, hand on her purse. “Tell me there is a cafeteria that’s not outside?”

“Technically you aren’t allowed to walk around the place with food or hide it in your bags,” pointed out the older girl.

Her sister rolled her eyes. “I’ll sneak you something,” she huffed, and Sunmi winked at her.

“I’ll come with you,” said Jiwoo, grabbing her own bag. “I can feel myself losing my voice, I need a gatorade or five.”

“Oh god please don’t,” begged Jungeun, trying to hide away a smile. “We do _not_ need you high on sugar at any time.”

“Just for that I’m not getting _you_ anything,” threatened the red head, and Jinsoul laughed at the disgruntled expression on Jungeun’s face.

The younger girl immediately rounded on her. “Et tu, Jinsoul?”

Jinsoul shrugged, trying and failing to hide a bigger smile. “You sort of deserved that.”

“Mean,” huffed Jungeun, before her eyes went back on the stage with a longing look on her face. “Hey, they disconnected the mic from the speakers, right?”

“Yeah,” answered Yerim, “Sunmi always lets us ‘borrow’ it when she’s not on stage and before people start coming up.”

Jungeun’s eyes literally lit up. “Wait really? So I can...”

“Sing?” asked Jinsoul, smiling gently at her. She had been worried slightly that she might be feeling down or less inspired to sing now that Jiwoo was signed, but apparently she shouldn’t have been.

Because the second Jinsoul, Haseul and Hyejoo gave her the okay, Jungeun had found her way on top of the stage.

Any discomfort or nerves that Jinsoul had expected to see from the girl simply wasn’t there. There was a certain charm in Jungeun - no, in Kim Lip, that seemed to transcend where she was.

Heejin, Yeojin and Hyunjin were busy bickering with each other, but the second Jungeun stepped on that stage it was like there was a shift in the energy that penetrated their arguments.

Jungeun winked at Jinsoul as she took the mic in her hands. “Mic check, mic check.”

“Go Kim Lip, go Kim Lip,” chanted Heejin, and the blonde let out a little laugh.

And then she brought the mike to her mouth and started singing.

You know how you see some people doing a particular job and you just know that that’s _exactly_ what they were born to do?

Jinsoul was born to be a singer and a performer, in Jinsoul’s humble opinion.

She wasn’t doing much. She was singing _siren_ and swaying on the stage, with a smile on her face, eyes closed and a serene expression absolutely serene. Her voice was pure honey, a harmony of sweetness and soul that had more than one tech person walking around still and watch her in open surprise.

Now, Jinsoul had heard her sing before. But right now she was _singing_. She was absolutely making the song her bitch, and Sunmi was great and all, but she needed to start paying Jungeun royalties from now on because the girl had made the song hers now. 

She didn’t dance on the stage, but Jinsoul could picture her doing it. Picture her writing on the stage with her body, every curve precise and yet fluid, just like she was.

At that moment, Jinsoul would say that Jungeun was the most beautiful woman in the entire world. If an angel came down and apologised for having lost one of their own, Jinsoul would believe them without a shadow of doubt.

She was simply ethereal and her voice was made of molten gold and shining diamonds, every shade of gold in her vocal cords.

When Jungeun finished singing and opened her eyes again, Yeojin and Yerim screamed and clapped their hands, demanding, “Encore! Encore!”, Haseul and Heejin were tripping over themselves to compliment her voice and how talented she was, and Hyunjin and Vivi looked awed too, but Jinsoul couldn’t do anything but stare at the girl on stage.

Jungeun jumped off the stage, a little embarrassed at all the girls fussing over her if the blush on her face was anything to go by. She was not nervous of going up on stage and laying her soul bare through her voice, but compliment her a little bit and suddenly she was a shy mess.

“Come on guys,” she was complaining, coming to stand next to Jinsoul once more and running a hand through her hair nervously. “It was just a song.”

“Just a song?” said Gowon, looking amazed. “Jungeun you have the most unique and pretty vocal colour I’ve ever heard. I swear I cannot wait for you to debut one day. You are insanely talented.”

Jinsoul still couldn’t find the words and nodded when Jungeun glanced her way, hoping to convey her thoughts through that gesture alone. 

She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but her throat felt dry like she was the one who had sung her lungs off on stage just then. 

Jungeun ignored the conversation and frowned at Jinsoul. “Are you okay? You look a little red?”

The older girl could feel Haseul’s heavy eyes on the two of them, but she couldn’t even begin to figure out what the girl might be thinking. Instead, she cleared her throat a little. “Yeah. I think something caught in my throat.” Jungeun appeared worried as she put a hand on her forehead. It felt cold on her skin.

“You don’t feel too hot,”

“I probably breathed wrong or something,” insisted Jinsoul, peeling the hand away from her forehead. Why was her skin so hot?

At that Vivi laughed. “Only you could _breathe wrong_ ,” she teased, and Jungeun snorted too.

“Excuse me?” came a voice, before Jinsoul could complain about them always picking on her. They looked up at Sunmi’s manager, who was standing there with something square shaped in his hands and huge smile on his face.

He was only looking at Jungeun, though.

The blonde looked at him, worried. “Yeah?”

“What’s your name?” asked the manager. At the way she paled, he was quickly to reassure, “You’re not in trouble. On the contrary, actually.”

“Jungeun. Kim Jungeun,” finally said the blonde, crossing her arms around her chest. Now she was mostly curious. “You’re Sunmi’s manager, Miss… uh,”

“Cha Youha,” finished the woman, putting a hand forward. “Nice to meet you.” When Jungeun shook her hand, she started talking again. “Honestly, I don’t do this too often, but I was just walking around looking for the other girl who’s filling in for the other manager when I heard your voice. You are insanely talented, has anyone ever told you that you have the voice of an angel?”

Jungeun’s eyes widened at that, no words coming out of her mouth. Jinsoul took her hand in hers to calm her down, and she felt Haseul’s eyes on her again as she spoke. “I’ve told her many times. She wants to become a singer.”

“Jinso-”

“Well, from what I’ve seen, you have what it takes,” said Youha, interrupting her. “Look, right now is not the perfect time, but I couldn’t risk you leaving without having at least gotten the name of this girl who sings like an angel.” She handed her a card that Jungeun took wordlessly. “Call my office and we’ll set up an appointment. It’s not everyday I discover a natural talent such as yourself.”

With that last pearl of wisdom, she gave Jungeun a pat on the shoulder, nodded at the other three girls beside her and then walked away.

Vivi, Haseul and Jinsoul were all vibrating around her, but Jungeun was staring at the card in her hands like it would evaporate if she looked away from it.

Finally she looked up and, surprisingly, looked at Jinsoul. Her smile was tremulous and there was something suspiciously like tears in her eyes. “Did that just happen?”

Jinsoul grinned, wide and proud. “You’re going to be a singer, baby!”

* * *

Sooyoung had been to many of Sunmi’s concerts throughout the years.

As her younger sister, it was her duty - at least according to Sunmi herself - to support her no matter what, and with her friends and Hyejoo’s friends being such big fans of her, it was always fun to come around and watching her perform to thousands of people every time.

“I think we lost them,” said Jiwoo, face a little flushed and a huge smile on her face.

... but Sooyoung had to admit, this was the first time, maybe she was having this much fun at her sister’s concert.

She looked over Jiwoo’s head at where they had run from and then nodded, running a hand through her hair and trying to stifle a laugh. “You are the absolute worst,” she informed the girl, and watched as her smile somehow _grew._

“Technically, I did not do anything wrong,” she pointed out and Sooyoung rolled her eyes.

The two of them had left earlier to get snacks and drinks for themselves, and everything had been fine. They had mostly talked about how Sooyoung’s work was and what Jiwoo was doing and all the lessons she was getting and her dreams of one day getting performing on that very stage or with Sunmi in one way or another.

And then, as they were walking back Jiwoo drinking her gatorade, they were spotted by one of the guards.

Theoretically, nothing would have happened. Even if he got annoyed that they were drinking indoors, they had their badges. The worst he could have done was take the drink she had in her hands away from her.

They would have been just fine.

But Jiwoo had seen the man walking towards them and looked at Sooyoung with horror before grabbing her hand in hers and _running away._

And Sooyoung, like the fool she was, had run along with her as quickly as they could, trying not to laugh too hard and fall over her own feet.

So now they were hiding somewhere near the main entrance and making sure they had lost the man before they headed back inside the stadium and found their seats.

“Not your fault? You started running!” complained Sooyoung, but the corner of her lips was going up.

Jiwoo saw that and she shrugged with a chuckle. “It’s not my fault. I saw a cop and I had to run. It’s in my blood. I’m from Chonju, man.”

“You’re saying it like its some sort of ghetto for thugs when Chonju is like, all countryside. Second,” and here she flicked Jiwoo’s forehead. “He was security, not police!”

“Fuck the police coming straight from the underground,” sang Jiwoo, and this time Sooyoung had to giggle.

“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“I am amiable,” corrected Jiwoo, then stilled for a second, looking at a point behind Sooyoung’s shoulder. “Oh no, I think he’s coming.”

Sooyoung looked behind her, and sure enough she could see a shadow in the distance. She turned to Jiwoo again. “We run again and risk getting lost?”

The red head narrowed her eyes at the shadow, then a decided expression came over her face. “I have another idea,” she said, and suddenly there were two arms around her neck. Jiwoo’s eyes were glittery in the dark of the corner they were hiding in. “Public display of affection make people very uncomfortable.”

Before Sooyoung could even begin unpacking that statement, there was a pair of lips on her mouth and she immediately blue screened.

They had only kissed twice, technically. Both times at that fateful Christmas party for her restaurant. And yet, Sooyoung felt like she had both memorized and forgotten the way Jiwoo’s lips felt on hers.

They were oh so soft and tasted like strawberries and Sooyoung wanted more, she wanted -

Jiwoo pulled away from her, cheeks flushed and eyes slightly wide. If she had a mirror, Sooyoung felt she could see her face doing something very similar to hers.

“Hey, he’s gone!” called Jiwoo, taking a step back from her.

Sooyoung felt cold, but she forced a smile on her face, ignoring how painfully her heart was beating in her chest. Jiwoo’s expression was turning normal again, and she forced herself to do the same. 

It was fine. It didn't mean anything. It was just a distraction and Jiwoo had no idea how hard it was for Sooyoung to keep her thoughts from going straight to the gutter when she saw her. She wasn't being cruel, it was Sooyoung herself who had decided not to do anything to pursue her, especially when she was at such a complicated stage in her life.

It was fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im really sorry for how long this chapter took. i wrote like three versions and none of them came out right which is irritating as fuck. im not even sure about this one
> 
> ill try to post at least once every two weeks, but uni started again and :/// its kicking my ass


	21. week twenty one: the one with hairdresser Hyejoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **W/C 09/03**
> 
> Kisses and hair dye, oh my!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i managed yay

Jinsoul liked being a teacher. It was a taxing and hard job, of course, but the feeling she got when a student went from not understanding something to excelling at it? The feeling of watching the young minds she was around slowly and clearly develop into critical thinkers? It was a drug she wasn’t sure she’d ever willingly give up.

Still, when she heard someone knocking at the front door of her apartment, she immediately dropped the homework she was marking with a sigh. Teaching kids in class and watching them do their work? Recommended. Having to mark any of said work? Hell no.

She pushed all the papers on one side of the table and walked up to the front door. She really should have taken a break earlier, she thought, at the feeling of her bones protesting every single one of her movements. 

“Kim Lip,” she greeted with a smile when she opened the door.

The younger girl looked almost surprised that Jinsoul had opened the door, and then smiled at the stage name being used. “Are you going to call me that from now on?”

Jinsoul shrugged, letting her in the apartment. “I don’t know how good of a nickname Jungie is,” she explained, dropping onto her couch. “Want something to drink?”

“No,” said the other, coming to sit down next to her. She eyed her for a second before taking a look at the papers she was working on. “Did I catch you at a bad time? Are you busy?”

Jinsoul was quick to wave away those thoughts. “If I try and continue with that in any way shape or form, my mind will quite possibly explode,” she shook her head and turned her eyes on Jungeun. “So, wanna watch a movie or something?”

They had had some moments in which Jinsoul invited her or Jungeun invited herself over to the apartment and they spent the day watching movies and talking.

Jungeun... she was a force to be reckoned with. She was funny as hell and despite some times appearing like she was too cool for everyone else, Jinsoul had quickly found out what a dork she truly was.

They weren’t similar, and had they not met here at the complex they probably would have never met or connected in real life. And yet, there was something fascinating… uplifting? about her. Something that was stubborn, prideful yet almost sweet and gentle.

As she had said, a force to be reckoned with.

Jungeun was unaware of Jinsoul’s musings, and she shook her head, lifting her socked feet on the couch. “Nah. I was wondering,” she started, then stopped herself and bit her lip, thoughtful.

Jinsoul bumped their shoulders together, moving a little closer than before. Did Jungeun run hotter than normal? Why was it that every time a part of her touched any part of Jinsoul, her skin felt very much warmer than before? 

She kept those vague thoughts to herself and raised an eyebrow in her direction. “What’s bothering you, prince Kim Lip?”

The younger girl scrunched her nose in distaste. “Prince?”

“You are very cool and regal like and all… you know,” she informed her, for some reason feeling her cheeks warming up. She resisted the urge of checking what was wrong and instead she focused once more on her. “Come on. Tell me what’s wrong?”

“Does something have to be wrong for me to be here?” tried the other girl, but at Jinsoul’s blank expression she rolled her eyes. “Ugh, whatever. But. No, nothing is wrong per se.”

The older girl watched her for a few seconds before some sort of light bulb lit up in her brain. “Is it your interview then?”

The expression on Jungeun’s face made it clear that she had hit the bullseye. 

After the concert the week before, Jungeun had been absolutely ecstatic. Between seeing Sunmi, singing on a  _ real  _ stage and being recognised by someone other than Jiwoo and her friends for her talent, nothing could have shaken her. She had even agreed to drive home with Yerim and Jinsoul again.

However, the day after, she had been much more subdued. She hadn’t approached Jinsoul, instead staying with Jiwoo the entire time, but even at a distance Jinsoul could tell she wasn’t exactly okay.

“What’s on your-”

“It’s not the same company as Jiwoo’s,” finally said Jungeun, seeming to explode even as her tone was low and muffled by her arms being pressed against her mouth. “And Sunmi moved there years ago, she doesn’t remember what it was like joining the company back then. And even if she did, it’s been years. The process is different.”

“You are nervous about the… job interview part of it?” questioned Jinsoul, and the girl nodded.

“The job here at the mart was easy. Everyone has worked in a mart at one point or another. The answers employees want to hear are basically online if you have five minutes to spare,” she puffed a strand of hair away from her face. “But joining a company? For a real music career? It’s different. With Jiwoo, she sent a tape and that was her audition basically. Me? I don’t know exactly what they’ll want from me. What if they want to hear something that isn’t  _ siren  _ from me and then realise that it was a fluke? Don’t get me wrong, I  _ know  _ I can sing.” She shook her head again. “But I also know that this is an industry in which everyone is supposed to sound like someone else and I… I don’t really sound like the typical singer.”

“Your voice colour is amazing,” interjected Jinsoul, and Jungeun gave her a small smile.

“You are supposed to say that. You’re my friend.”

Jinsoul gave a half nod, her mouth dry for some reason. Did she need more water? Was she getting a cold? 

She cleared her throat and put her head down on the back of the couch, full on facing Jungeun. “Do you want to practice some random questions with me just in case?”

Was that wonder in Jungeun’s eyes? “You would do that?”

Jinsoul gave her a sardonic smile. “I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t, babe,” she teased, feeling her heart absolutely soaring at the faint blush on Jungeun’s face and her bright smile.

“All right, then,” agreed Jungeun, getting more comfortable as Jinsoul racked her brain and pulled out her phone out of her pocket.

Jinsoul had been to auditions back in the day, when she had thought that she might be a singer, but she had never stuck around enough to be casted. She always ended up being too nervous on stage and was never able to give it her all. So she had never gotten to the stage of the questioning.

The only thing close to a successful post audition she had ever witnessed was watching every single episode of Produce 101. And those were mostly written for the sake of the audience rather than the actual girls dreaming of becoming trainees.

However, for some reason, the random questions she pulled out from the show had helped the girl relax much more.

She went from hesitating and frowning at the questions being asked, to being able to answer fluidly, even adding some information in like a pro-idol (okay, maybe Jinsoul was a  _ little  _ biased, but she knew an artist in the making when she saw one, okay!)

“More confident?” asked Jinsoul about 20 minutes later. 

Jungeun gave her one of her small smiles, nodding slightly. “You are really good at this,” she finally said, her voice pitched lower.

The other girl was laying in a similar position as Jinsoul, body facing the older girl, head laying on the back of the couch and eyes on her.

It occurred to Jinsoul now that she had to be very close to the younger girl for her to be able to hear her as clearly as she was doing. And she could see almost every single one of her lashes separately. “I watched a lot of survival shows,” she managed to let out, her eyes trying and failing to look at something that wasn’t Jungeun’s brown eyes or her lips.

The other girl had not missed it, but instead of reprimanding Jinsoul, she seemed to blush a little more, her eyes glittering with something Jinsoul couldn’t qualify. “Yeah?”

“Uh-uh,” agreed Jinsoul, still not moving away from Jungeun.

Not that she was moving away either.

Instead, she was in fact moving closer. Leaning in closer to Jinsoul, her eyes on her lips.

She stopped just a breath away from Jinsoul’s lips. When she spoke, Jinsoul could feel her breath on her skin. “We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered. She didn’t move away.

“We shouldn’t,” agreed Jinsoul, eyes focused on Jungeun’s for a beat or two.

When the girl simply didn’t move, Jinsoul leant in, their lips fitting together automatically.

She knew she shouldn’t. Hell, they both knew that they shouldn’t be kissing each other. But for the life of her, Jinsoul could not even think about  _ why  _ exactly they shouldn’t be kissing each other when they were both such good kisser and Jungeun wanted to kiss her as much as Jinsoul did.

She felt teeth on her lips and kissed with renewed energy, sinking her hands in Jungeun’s hair with no care in the world. 

The kiss was not rushed however. It wasn’t like before, a prelude of something more. It was just… a calm kiss. Jinsoul would have very readily described it to pieces, but Jungeun’s mouth was as distracting as it had been the last time they had kissed.

They both jumped and broke off the kiss when they heard the sound of the front door being unlocked, separating with sploshed red cheeks and wide eyes. 

“Yo, Jinsoul I’m home!” called Yerim, and the younger girl was on her feet immediately.

“Thank you for your help, Jinsoul,” said Jungeun, just as Yerim walked into the room and looked surprised at her presence.

“Oh, Jungeun, hey! What are you doing here?” asked Yerim, cheerily dropping her bag on the couch and smiling at her.

Jungeun’s cheeks were still  _ very  _ red, but were slowly going back to their natural paleness. “Your cousin was helping me with a couple things for my interview next week. I have to go now, though.”

Yerim frowned at her as she all but ran away from the room and turned on Jinsoul the moment the main door closed behind them. Her eyes were narrowed at her cousin who was twiddling her thumbs and pretending everything was fine. “What did you do?”

“Nothing?” managed Jinsoul, and why was she feeling so guilty? It was just a kiss. She had kissed friends before. She had kissed Sooyoung. And Haseul, once. It was friendship kisses.

Her cousin studied her for a few seconds, probably trying to sniff out what lie of omission she was hiding and honestly, Jinsoul had enough of that from Haseul. If her cousin turned into a second Haseul, a hellhound who tracked down secrets, Jinsoul would simply have to emigrate away.

“Hey, I was thinking of dyeing my hair,” she said, interrupting her cousin’s train of thought. “Want to come with?”

And well, it wasn’t a lie. Jinsoul’s hair had been blonde for a hot minute now, and the price of keeping that way while also making sure her scalp wasn’t bleeding out was pretty high. Also, she missed having black hair. It was as good an excuse as any and she hoped it would work.

+++

Theoretically, it did work, mused Jinsoul as she was sitting in the living room less than an hour later with Yerim and her gaggle of friends. Because apparently the word ‘hair dye’ was some sort of spell that assembled disaster younger siblings all around.

“Where did you guys even get all this hair dye so quickly?” she questioned, watching the several boxes of hair dye a little worried. “You didn’t rob a hairdresser, did you? Cause I love you girl but I’m not going to prison with you. I'm too pretty.”

“As if we would get caught,” scoffed Hyejoo, tying a black waterproof cloth around Chaewon’s neck first.

“You are  _ really  _ not instilling confidence,” warned the older girl, even as her lips twitched slightly. Because, well, she had to admit it. Even if Yeojin was a bit of a disaster and Hyejoo was a hit or miss, Yerim and Chaewon were - or looked like they were - competent as fuck.

“Relax,” said Yeojin, settling down next to Chaewon with her own oversized bib. “They are Vivi’s. She let us borrow them.”

“Again, when you say borrow do you mean she gave them to you or do you mean you took it from her?” she questioned once more because when it came to the three musketeers + one from hell, either option was possible.

“We asked,” huffed Yerim, sitting cross legged beside her with her eyes on the various number of hair colours around. “We are perfectly able to be respectful, you know?”

“Are you, though?” wondered Jinsoul, now smirking at her cousin. “Because sometimes I look at you and just see a bunch of animals.”

“Even me?” pouted Chaewon, batting wide eyes at her. 

The older girl clutched her chest. “Oh my god, how do you  _ do  _ that? It’s like you’re a doll or something.”

“Thank you,” answered the other blonde with a little mischievous twinkle in her eyes. Yeah, Chaewon was fitting in with them a little too well, at this point. 

In a matter of minutes they went from talking about the girl’s doll aura to talking about a bunch of anime they had all seen and that Jinsoul didn’t know about - because she wasn’t a geek, thank you very much - while Hyejoo started working on their hair.

Only then she managed to extract her phone from her pocket.

She made sure that Yerim was busy chatting with Yerim before turning it on and going to a particular chat thread.

**jindori** : hey, you left in a rush earlier

**jindori** : you remember the questions and your answers?

**jindori** : you’re okay?

She expected to have to wait a while before getting an answer, but Jungeun was answering immediately.

**tsundere from 6B:** yeah, im okay dont worry

**tsundere from 6B:** thank you so much for helping, soul, really.

**tsundere from 6B:** and thank you for the goodluck kiss too  **❤️**

Jinsoul was right. It was just a kiss, nothing more. She smiled at the phone.

**jindori:** anytime for you, miss lip

Yerim frowned at her, when she looked back up from the screen. “Why are you so red?”

* * *

It didn’t happen very often, but every now and then, Jiwoo managed to grow bored in her apartment.

How could it be possible, one might ask, with five girls living in each other’s pocket all the time?

Well, it became  _ very  _ easy when you got used to having those girls around and then suddenly they were gone.

Jungeun was at work because, until she was officially signed, she refused to take any risk by leaving the mart. Heejin was also at work because it was Friday and she usually worked late on Fridays. Chaewon had left the apartment earlier with Yerim and had yet to return. Hyunjin was a cryptid that sometimes Jiwoo wasn’t sure actually existed on a normal plane of existence, and she was nowhere to be found.

And she was alone after a day of vocal lessons, drinking boba tea and wondering if she should try and make dinner for herself.

As if summoned by those glum and sad thoughts, there was a knock at the door.

“Coming!” she shouted, jumping up from the chair and skipping all the way to the door.  _ Please let it be Chaewon with food, please let it be Chaewon with food,  _ she prayed, before opening the door hard enough that she could have lifted it off its hinges.

Well.

It was  _ food  _ at the very least. Even if it wasn’t Chaewon with it.

“Sooyoung. Hi!” she called, blinking up at the taller girl in the doorway in surprise.

Sooyoung raised an eyebrow at her and waved the plastic bag in her hands in front of her. “I bring food.”

_ Right. Manners, _ thought Jiwoo, not letting her smile disappear as she stepped aside. “Come in, come in. You staying?”

“Who’s here?” wondered Sooyoung, walking into the kitchen like she owned it. Which she didn’t, but she might as well, with how much time everyone else actually used it.

Jiwoo followed her no longer skipping and trying to keep her nerves at bay. “Just me. And now you.”

“Oh,” said Sooyoung, eyes going from the number of boxes in the bag to the red head standing next to her. “Do you know what time they’re coming back? I wouldn’t want the food to go to waste.”

“Uh, I think Lip is coming home in a couple of hours, and Heejin is coming home in 45 minutes give or take. Hyunjin I don’t even know where she is, but Chaewon I can text if you want?” She made eye contact with Sooyoung, who frowned at the slightly frazzled expression on her eyes, and then took a step back. “I’ll text her right now, actually, great idea!”

She made to take another step and turn away, but then a firm hand was on her wrist. The hold was not that strong and had Jiwoo wanted to, with her taekwondo training, she could have very easily freed herself from it.

Instead she froze and looked up at Sooyoung with wide eyes.

The taller girl was looking a little nervous too, but she didn’t let go of Jiwoo’s wrist. “Jiwoo? What’s going on?”

The red head would have loved to be able to say that there was nothing wrong. To bullshit herself out of the situation like Chaewon and Hyunjin did so easily.

But she opened her mouth and the truth tumbled out without her being able to do anything to stop it. “I shouldn’t have kissed you last week at the concert.”

Sooyoung stiffened, and Jiwoo knew it.

She had known it when she was doing it, and she should have apologised the second she had done so. Instead she had not stopped and thought about it, fully forgetting about it in the heat of the concert.

“I am so  _ sorry _ ,” she said immediately, grabbing Sooyoung’s hand when the girl made to let go of her. “That was so rude of me, and I should have thought about it a little bit more before plunging along like I always do. It just that right then I thought - but no, it doesn’t matter what I thought, because that was rude. I didn’t even ask you and I just assumed it would be fine, but it was a very different situation than before and I shouldn’t have-”

The more she spoke, the more confused and less tense Sooyoung’s entire posture became. She stared down at her in puzzlement as Jiwoo continued apologising. “Shouldn’t I be apologizing?” asked Sooyoung, when Jiwoo paused for a second to draw breath.

That stumped the next bit of her apology in its tracks. “What? Why would  _ you  _ apologise? I’m the one who kissed you without permission!”

Something seemed to click in Sooyoung’s mind and she stared at Jiwoo for a couple of seconds with an expression that was hard to read. “Wait. Are you apologizing for kissing me? Without my permission?”

Jiwoo nodded slowly. “Yeah?” Wasn’t that why Sooyoung had stiffened at the beginning of the apology?

“At the concert?” she continued unnecessarily.

“Yeah?” she gave a nervous laugh. “I didn’t kiss you anywhere else, right?” She wasn’t drunk at the concert. Unless one counted drunk on Sunmi and drunk on life as legitimate inebriating and inhibition lowering situations.

There was a weird to discern expression on her face for a couple of seconds, before Sooyoung shook her head, letting out a little huff of laughter. “Fuck, Jiwoo.  _ That’s  _ what you been working yourself over?”

Well, of course, she thought, watching the way Sooyoung was slowly relaxing once more. Shouldn’t she be jumping away from her in disgust? She shouldn’t have done that. Her and Sooyoung were friends, and, despite what Jiwoo might wish, they weren’t  _ that  _ close. They weren’t the type of close that allowed kisses from one another for no reason or to provide some sort of cover. 

But Sooyoung really seemed like the whole situation, her being nervous about a reaction was as amusing as it was ridiculous. Like perhaps she didn’t think badly of Jiwoo for her kissing.

She had to be sure, though. “So… you’re not mad?”

“Mad? Mad!” She patted her cheek with a soft smile. “I’m not mad. I wouldn’t be mad for something like that.”

A huge weight seemed to have been lifted from Jiwoo’s shoulders. “Really?”

Sooyoung’s expression turned even softer. “Really. Honestly, Jiwoo. It’s not a big deal,” she rolled her eyes. “It was just a kiss. You don’t have to ever feel guilty about kissing me,” she added, with a wink.

“ _ You  _ can’t go around saying that, Sooyoung! You’re too hot!” said Jiwoo, because apparently the nerves left and took her brain to mouth filter along with them.

A shadow of something passed through Sooyoung’s eyes, but it was gone before Jiwoo could even think about what it meant. “Why, thank you. You’re a pretty sight yourself.”

“Are you two done flirting?” asked a voice and Jiwoo let out a scream at a pitch she wasn’t even sure was part of her range.

Hyunjin pressed a hand on her ear, glaring at her like  _ she  _ was the one who was causing a disturbance. “Jeez, what’s in your throat? An actual whistle?”

“Kim Hyunjin, what the  _ fuck _ !” managed Jiwoo, staring at the younger girl slightly appalled. “Where did you even come from?”

“My bedroom, duh?” said the other red haired girl, slipping in the chair next to Sooyoung. “Hey, neighbour.”

Sooyoung looked more amused than on the verge of a heart attack like Jiwoo was, because of course even Sooyoung’s heart was perfect. “Hi, Hyun.”

“How long have you been in your bedroom?” questioned Jiwoo, massaging her chest as Hyunjin grabbed one of the boxes of food from the table. 

“From before you came in and asked ‘is anyone home’,” informed her Hyunjin, smirking when Sooyoung, the traitor, let out a little laugh at that. “Why?”

“You are evil. The worst person in the history of the world, I’ll have you know.”

“Really? I won the title from Yeojin? That’s neat.”

“She’s not even here to defend herself,” complained Sooyoung, but she wasn’t even trying to keep her amusement at bay anymore. “It’s just mean at this point.”

“Who’s not here to defend themselves?” asked another voice and Jiwoo screamed once more. 

Fuck her neighbours and roommates. Honestly her throat was going to hurt a lot tomorrow, if things continued going this way.

She turned around - ignoring Hyunjin and Sooyoung snort laughing behind her - and met Chaewon’s very unimpressed eyes. “Why would you scream like that? What if I really was someone dangerous? What would your scream achieve?”

Normally Jiwoo would have ripped her apart as well, but instead her attention was on Chaewon’s - and company’s - hair. Her  _ very blue _ hair. “Holy shit, you’re Hatsune Miku!”

Sooyoung’s eyes sparkled and even Hyunjin let out a little laugh at that. “Oh my god, you are!”

Chaewon ran a hand through her now bright blue hair with a thoughtful expression on her face. “You know what? I’ll allow it.”

“Gowon Miku,” teased Hyejoo, laughing at her.

“What about me?” questioned Yeojin, putting a hand through her own hair, now a suave and soft looking blonde.

Despite her earlier claims, Hyunjin nodded. “It really suits you, Yeo. Did you all go to the same hairdresser?”

“Nope,” answered a now brown haired Yerim, pushing past Hyejoo and grabbing a box of food. “Hyejoo herself did it.”

Her sister looked offended at that. “How come  _ I  _ have to go to a hairdresser if I want my hair done?”

Hyejoo gave her a haughty look. “We are not friends, miss Sooyoung.”

“Oooh!” chorused the coloured hair trio, while Sooyoung gave a gasp.

“I cannot believe you’d do this to me. After I fed you and watered you for so long, you dare…” she shook her head dramatically. “It’s so painful I can’t even finish the sentence. Betrayal! Betrayal!” 

Jiwoo just laughed at the chaos the room descended in.

Just like it was supposed to be.

Loud as fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hair changes
> 
> yeojin: brown → blonde  
> jinsoul: blonde → black  
> yerim: purple → brown  
> gowon: blonde → blue 
> 
> i'm lowkey tempted to delete this fic... one of my favourite writers is getting flack on twitter by orbits because of her fanfic because she had not even a smut scene, but because she said something smut related in her fic and i'm terrified of someone finding out who I am and doing the same to me
> 
> maybe i'll go back and change whatever smut scene i wrote? like the premise of lipsoul wouldn't change but I would be way less explicit maybe.. i don't know, i have anxiety and i've been feeling quite terrified for a while now hhhh


End file.
